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

Tyler, 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 Tyler surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tyler in America

Tyler is the 509th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tyler surname appeared 66,056 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 22 people would have the surname Tyler.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tyler 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 Tyler

The surname Tyler originated in England during the medieval period. It derives from the occupational term 'tiler', referring to someone who made or laid tiles, usually on roofs. The name comes from the Old English word 'tigele', meaning tile, combined with the agent suffix '-er'.

The earliest known record of the Tyler surname dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as 'Tighelare'. This indicates that the name was well-established in England by the late 11th century.

In the 13th century, the surname was often spelled 'Tyghelere' or 'Tygheler'. By the 14th century, the modern spelling 'Tyler' had emerged, and it became more widespread across various regions of England.

One notable historical figure bearing the Tyler surname was Wat Tyler (c. 1341 – 1381), a leader of the Peasants' Revolt in 1381. He was born in Essex and played a pivotal role in the uprising against the oppressive poll tax imposed by King Richard II.

Another early reference to the name can be found in the 14th-century poem "Piers Plowman" by William Langland, where a character named Tiler is mentioned.

In the 15th century, John Tyler (c. 1430 – 1505) was a prominent English scholar and translator who produced the first English translation of Aristotle's "Nicomachean Ethics".

During the English Civil War in the 17th century, Sir John Tyler (1609 – 1672) was a prominent Parliamentary officer who served under Oliver Cromwell.

One of the most famous Tylers in American history was John Tyler (1790 – 1862), who served as the 10th President of the United States from 1841 to 1845 after the death of William Henry Harrison.

Another notable American with the surname was Moses Coit Tyler (1835 – 1900), a literary historian and writer who authored several books on American literature and history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tyler

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Tyler, 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!