Tillie last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Tillie is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Tillie.

Meaning of Tillie

A variant spelling of the English surname Tilly derived from the medieval unisex name Thille.

Tillie, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Tillie surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tillie in America

Tillie is the 45105th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tillie surname appeared 475 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Tillie.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tillie to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 45105 44574 1.18%
Count 475 454 4.52%
Proportion per 100k 0.16 0.17 -6.06%

The history of the last name Tillie

The surname Tillie is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old English word "tili," which means "industrious" or "hardworking." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who was known for their diligence and work ethic.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tillie can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholders in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears as "Tillius," which was likely a variant spelling at the time.

During the 13th century, the Tillie family is believed to have been prominent landowners in the county of Hertfordshire, located north of London. Records from this period show the name spelled as "Tilie" or "Tilye," indicating that the spelling was not yet standardized.

In the 14th century, a notable figure bearing the surname Tillie was Sir John Tillie, a knight who fought alongside Edward III during the Hundred Years' War against France. He was born around 1310 and died in battle in 1346 at the age of 36.

Another prominent individual with the Tillie surname was William Tillie, a merchant and alderman who lived in the city of London during the 16th century. He was born in 1520 and played a significant role in the city's governance and trade affairs until his death in 1595.

In the 17th century, the name Tillie was often associated with the village of Tilley in Shropshire, England. It is possible that some families with this surname may have derived their name from this place name.

Another notable figure was Thomas Tillie, a British military officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century. He was born in 1775 and rose to the rank of Major General before his death in 1835.

Throughout history, the surname Tillie has also been found in various spellings, such as Tilley, Tilly, and Tillie, reflecting the evolving nature of surname spelling over time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tillie

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Tillie.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Tillie was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 45.47% 216
Non-Hispanic Black Only 48.00% 228
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 2.95% 14
Hispanic Origin 2.53% 12

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Tillie has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 45.47% 47.36% -4.07%
Black 48.00% 44.27% 8.08%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 2.95% 4.41% -39.67%
Hispanic 2.53% 2.64% -4.26%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Tillie was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Tillie, please contact us.

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Tillie last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on June 6, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/tillie-surname-popularity/.

"Tillie last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/tillie-surname-popularity/. Accessed 6 June, 2025

Tillie last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/tillie-surname-popularity/.

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