The Till surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,299 people carried this name — #7,721 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 68,500 people counted. That is up 3% from 4,168 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Till surname

As an English surname, reduced from a pet form of Matilda.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Till» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Matilda’.

An early record he cites: Agnes Tylleson, 1379 — Poll Tax, Howdenshire.

His entry covers Tilson, Till, Tillson, Tills and Tilles.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 752 · public domain.

In Poland’s population register

111 people named Till have a registered home in Poland.

Of the 135 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 9 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Greater Poland.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Greater Poland 37
Lower Silesian 27
Silesian 17
Lubusz 11
Kuyavian-Pomeranian 8
Lesser Poland 4
Subcarpathian 3
Podlaskie 2

PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 63 people named Till live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 31
City of Buenos Aires 21
Santa Fe 11

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 27 people named Till.

11 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 3 départements, most often Vosges.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 11
Vosges 10
Paris 5
Doubs 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

25 people named Till live in Switzerland.

They live in 3 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Zurich 11
Basel-Stadt 8
Valais 6

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In the Nordic population registers

47 people named Till is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 47

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Till was found among the farmers of Gloucestershire: 24 in every 10,000.

Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Gloucestershire 24

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In print

Till in American newspapers,
1897–1916.

Newspaper page from Foster's Daily Democrat carrying the name Till
Foster's Daily Democrat 1897-05-29
Newspaper page from The Port Gibson Reveille carrying the name Till
The Port Gibson Reveille 1916-07-13
Newspaper page from The Portland Daily Press carrying the name Till
The Portland Daily Press 1897-06-04

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 8,787 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Till in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

46,184 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Till. The most, 8,800, date from the 1910s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 1.9 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 19,311
New South Wales 12,134
Queensland 5,656
South Australia 5,374
Western Australia 1,751
Tasmania 1,640
ACT (Canberra) 251
Northern Territory 24

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Till.

Who carried it

People named Till,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Johann Till the Younger
    Johann Till the Younger 1827–1894 · painter
  • Johann Till the Younger
    Johann Till the Younger 1827–1894 · painter
  • William Till d. 1766 · judge
  • Emily Sarah Cooper d. 1913
  • W. T. Till d. 1913
  • John Till d. 1921

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Till,
in the records of 8 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States545 records

545 records of the Till name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 156
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 115
  • Other U.S. records 274
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Ray D. Till

    Born 1918 in Louisiana. Enlisted 1942 at Shreveport; farmer from Franklin Parish. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1999, buried at Crowville Masonic Cemetery, Louisiana.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Margaretha Till

    Arrived at New York in 1904 aboard the Koenig Albert from Cherbourg, aged 17; house maid. From Sztandras, Hungary.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record John Jeremiah Till

    Born 1949; from Pasco, Washington. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1968 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 545 records for Till in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia248 records

248 records of the Till name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 101
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 56
  • Other Australian records 91
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Cornelius Till

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Sarah, sailing from London in 1836. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1845.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Wm Till

    Arrived in Victoria in 1854 aboard the Red Jacket, aged 45; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record Sydney Norman Till

    NSW railway employee; served in the First World War with the First Railway Section (AIF).

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)

Showing 3 of 248 records for Till in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Livre d’or of the war dead, Paris, Ministère des pensions, Archives nationales (CC0).

Germany105 records

105 records of the Till name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Alois Till

    Born 1899; from Wandsbek. Reported missing in the Prussian casualty list of 4 December 1918 (Field Artillery Regiment No. 237).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Friedrich Till

    From Awecken, Pr.-Holland. Reported dead in the Prussian casualty list of 2 July 1915 (Guard Grenadier Regiment No. 3).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  3. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Fritz Kurt Till

    Born 1896; from Leipzig-Plagwitz. Reported wounded in the Saxon casualty list of 4 January 1917.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 3 of 105 records for Till in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Netherlands26 records

26 records of the Till name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 14
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 7
  • Dutch population registers 5
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Carl Julius August Till

    Married in 1882 in Rotterdam. Died 1919 in Rotterdam, aged 77.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Elise Till

    Died 1909 in Aken, Germany, aged 40.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Historisch Centrum Limburg (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Maria Catrina Till

    Married in 1795 in Breda; born in Breda.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Breda (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 26 records for Till in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada19 records

19 records of the Till name in Canada
  • City of Niagara Falls (Ontario) cemetery records 6
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 3
  • Other Canadian records 10
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Nikolaus Till

    Buried in 1995 at St. Mary's Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 84.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Clara Till

    Buried in 1959 at Lundys Lane Cemetery, Niagara Falls, Ontario.

    City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record James Till

    Buried in 1978 at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.

Showing 3 of 19 records for Till in Canada.

Counts: City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom17 records

17 records of the Till name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 14
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Thomas Till

    Buried in 1801 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 59.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record E. Till

    Corporal, Tank Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ann Till

    Buried in 1825 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 75.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 17 records for Till in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

France10 records

10 records of the Till name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Michel Georges Pierre Till

    Born 1930 in Vincey; died 1988 in Épinal (Vosges).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Jeanine Till

    Born 1916 in Germany; died 1997 in Bruay-la-Buissière (Pas-de-Calais).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Antoll Till

    Born 1940 in Hungary; died 1991 in Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 10 records for Till in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

New Zealand7 records

7 records of the Till name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 4
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James Connor Till

    Died 1993, aged 73; buried at Tairua Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Lavinia Annie Sylvia Till

    Died 1981, aged 74; buried at Waimairi Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Arthur Mervyn Till

    Died 1993, aged 75; buried at Mercury Bay Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 7 records for Till in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Till.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Till is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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