2000
#1,110
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 28,878
First available Census row
Per 100,000 10.70
Uncommon Last name
Tillman
A surname of English origin referring to a farmer or plowman who tills the soil.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 34,168 Americans carry the last name Tillman. That puts it at #1,158 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 9.97 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 10,031 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tillman surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Tillman with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
34K
1 in 10,031
Census rank
#1,158
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
10.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
30K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 29,796 bearers of the surname Tillman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 9.97 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1158th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tillman, the largest self-reported group is Black at 47.7%. The next largest groups are White (42.8%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tillman
The surname Tillman is of English origin and is believed to have derived from the Old English words "tilian" meaning to till or cultivate, and "mann" meaning a man or person. It was an occupational surname given to someone who worked as a farmer or cultivator of the land.
The earliest known record of the name dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Tilemann" and "Tilman" in various counties across England. This suggests that the name was already in use by the late 11th century.
In the 13th century, the name was recorded as "Tilman" and "Tyllman" in various records and manuscripts, such as the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire and the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Robert Tilman, a landowner in Hertfordshire, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of 1195. Another early bearer was John Tyllman, a resident of Norfolk, who was recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of 1327.
The name is also associated with several places in England, including Tilmanstone in Kent, which was formerly known as "Tilmannes-tun" in the 10th century, meaning "Tilman's farm or estate."
Notable individuals with the surname Tillman throughout history include:
1. Benjamin Tillman (1847-1918), an American politician and governor of South Carolina, known for his support of racial segregation and white supremacy.
2. Edmonia Lewis Tillman (1845-1900), an American sculptor and activist, who was one of the first African American artists to achieve national recognition.
3. Samuel Escue Tillman (1847-1942), an American minister and civil rights activist, who was a prominent leader in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
4. Samuel E. Tillman (1876-1952), an American politician and lawyer, who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Arkansas.
5. Benjamin Ryan Tillman (1892-1965), an American lawyer and jurist, who served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
The surname Tillman has also been found with various spellings over time, such as Tilman, Tillmann, Tyllman, and Tyllmann, reflecting the evolution of language and regional variations in pronunciation and spelling.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tillman
Among Census respondents with the surname Tillman, the largest self-reported group is Black at 47.7%. The next largest groups are White (42.8%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Tillman bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Tillman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American47.7% · 14,199
- White42.8% · 12,750
- Two or more races5.0% · 1,496
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 954
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 250
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 147
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tillman
Tillman appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#1,139
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 30,825
+1,947 bearers (+6.7%)
Per 100,000 10.45
Rank movement Down 29 places
2020
#1,158
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 29,796
-1,029 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 9.97
Rank movement Down 19 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,110 | 28,878 | 10.70 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,139 | 30,825 | 10.45 | +1,947 bearers (+6.7%) | Down 29 places |
| 2020 | #1,158 | 29,796 | 9.97 | -1,029 bearers (-3.3%) | Down 19 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Tillman surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,139 | #1,158 | -1.7% |
| Count | 30,825 | 29,796 | -3.3% |
| Per 100K | 10.45 | 9.97 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tillman bearers went from 30,825 to 29,796 (-3.3% change). The surname moved down 19 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,139 to #1,158.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Tillman
FAQ
Tillman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tillman?
Name Census estimates that about 34,168 living Americans carry the surname Tillman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 10,031 residents.
How common is Tillman?
Tillman ranks #1,158 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 9.97 per 100,000 residents, which is about 10 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 29,796 people with the surname Tillman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (34,168), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 9.97 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 9.97 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 10 of them to have the surname Tillman.
Has Tillman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tillman went from 30,825 recorded bearers to 29,796. That is a decrease of 1,029 (-3.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,139 to #1,158.
What does the Census say about the background of Tillman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tillman, the largest self-reported group is Black at 47.7%. The next largest groups are White (42.8%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Tillman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.7% (14,199 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tillman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (47.7%), White (42.8%), Two or More Races (5.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Tillman (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Tillman mean?
A surname of English origin referring to a farmer or plowman who tills the soil. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Tillman (9.97 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Tillman?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Tillman at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.