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

Tilman, 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 Tilman surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tilman in America

Tilman is the 22770th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tilman surname appeared 1,125 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 Tilman.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tilman 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.

The history of the last name Tilman

The surname TILMAN is of German origin, derived from the medieval personal name Tilman or Tillmann. This name is a combination of the Old High German elements "dil" meaning "fertile" or "productive" and "man" meaning "man."

The name TILMAN first appeared in records during the late 12th century in the Rhineland region of Germany. It was associated with the growing agricultural communities of the time, reflecting the name's meaning of a productive or fertile man.

In the 13th century, the name was documented in various medieval manuscripts and charters. For instance, a Tilman von Rüdesheim was mentioned in a charter from the city of Mainz in 1272.

The earliest recorded example of the surname TILMAN dates back to 1285 in the town of Cologne, where a certain Henricus dictus Tilman (Henry called Tilman) was listed in a local tax registry.

During the 14th century, the name TILMAN gained prominence in the Prussian regions of Germany. One notable figure was Tilman von Hirschfeld (1293-1368), a military commander who fought in the Prussian Crusades against the pagan Prussians.

In the 15th century, the surname TILMAN was found in various parts of Germany, including Bavaria and Saxony. A famous bearer of the name was Tilman Riemenschneider (c. 1460-1531), a renowned German sculptor and woodcarver from Würzburg.

In the 16th century, the name TILMAN spread to other parts of Europe, including the Netherlands and England. One notable Dutch figure was Tilman Susato (c. 1510-1570), a composer and music publisher from Antwerp.

In England, the surname TILMAN was sometimes anglicized to Tillman or Tilleman. A prominent example was John Tillman (c. 1580-1670), an English politician and landowner from Yorkshire.

Other historical figures with the surname TILMAN include Johann Tilman Noot (1644-1702), a Dutch lawyer and politician, and Friedrich Tilman (1786-1852), a German painter and engraver from Saxony.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tilman

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

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 Tilman was:

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 Tilman has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

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 Tilman was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

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!