Tilley Family History

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Tilley Name Meaning

variant spelling of Tilly. habitational name from Tilley in Shropshire, named from Old English telga ‘branch’, ‘bough’ + leah ‘wood’, ‘clearing’. occupational name for a husbandman, Middle English tilie (Old English tilia, a primary derivative of tilian ‘to till or cultivate’). from the medieval female personal name Tilly, a pet form of Till.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press


Similar surnames: Tiller, Willey, Titley, Tilly, Cilley, Lilly, Pilley, Dilley, Tolley

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Tilley Ethnicity Estimate

What are the common regions with the Tilley name?

These results combine data from everyone in the AncestryDNA® database with the last name Tilley. The Ancestry® ethnicity regions shown are top five most common on average for these people.

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  • England & Wales

    58%

  • Ireland & Scotland

    21%

  • Germanic Europe

    5%

  • Norway

    3%

  • France

    2%

Your own DNA-based ethnicity estimate will differ from what you see here. To get your personalized ethnicity estimate, order an AncestryDNA® kit.order an AncestryDNA® kit.

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Tilley Family Origin

Where is the Tilley family from?

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You can see how Tilley families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Tilley family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Tilley families were found in the UK in 1891. In 1891 there were 616 Tilley families living in London. This was about 16% of all the recorded Tilley's in the UK. London had the highest population of Tilley families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Tilley surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

View Census Data for Tilley

Tilley Family Occupations

What did your Tilley ancestors do for a living?

In 1881, a less common occupation for the Tilley family was Coal Miner. The most common Tilley occupation in the UK was Agricultural Labourer. 4% of Tilley's were Agricultural Labourers. Agricultural Labourer, Farmer and Labourer were the top 3 reported jobs worked by Tilley.

View Census data for Tilley | Data not to scale

  • Agricultural Labourer

    4%

  • Farmer

    3%

  • Labourer

    3%

  • Coal Miner

    2%

Census records can tell you a lot of little known facts about your Tilley ancestors, such as occupation. Occupation can tell you about your ancestor's social and economic status.

Tilley Historical Records

What Tilley family records will you find?

Census Record

There are 135,000 census records available for the last name Tilley. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Tilley census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search Australian census records for Tilley

Passenger List

There are 12,000 immigration records available for the last name Tilley. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Australia, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Tilley immigration records

Draft Card

There are 17,000 military records available for the last name Tilley. For the veterans among your Tilley ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Tilley military records

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Tilley Life Expectancy

What is the average Tilley lifespan?

Between 1942 and 2004, in the United States, Tilley life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1944, and highest in 2001. The average life expectancy for Tilley in 1942 was 28, and 73 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Tilley

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Tilley ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

Famous Tilley Family Ancestors

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