Tillie
Tillie was given to 177 girls in 2025, #1,269 among girls’ names; 15,765 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 3,050 Americans named Tillie and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (19% of everyone recorded); the median is 17 years old and half are between 5 and 69.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Tillie by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Tillie mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Tillie is “a diminutive of the female given name Matilda.”
From Matilda.
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Tillie?
#1,269 among girls’ names, 2025
Tillie rose from #2,585 in 2015 to #1,269 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.04 to 0.11 per 1,000.
505 babies in 1915, the peak
Tillie peaked in 1915, when 505 babies were given it (499 girls, #263 among girls’ names). The 177 births of 2025 are 35% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 177 | #1,269 | 0.11 |
| 2024 | 191 | #1,235 | 0.12 |
| 2023 | 177 | #1,297 | 0.11 |
| 2022 | 156 | #1,440 | 0.10 |
| 2021 | 131 | #1,609 | 0.08 |
| 2020 | 112 | #1,780 | 0.07 |
| 2019 | 115 | #1,787 | 0.07 |
| 2018 | 84 | #2,216 | 0.05 |
| 2017 | 54 | #3,048 | 0.03 |
| 2016 | 71 | #2,535 | 0.04 |
Every recorded year (145)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 70 | #2,585 | 0.04 |
| 2014 | 52 | #3,181 | 0.03 |
| 2013 | 42 | #3,693 | 0.02 |
| 2012 | 41 | #3,847 | 0.02 |
| 2011 | 37 | #4,064 | 0.02 |
| 2010 | 23 | #5,960 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 40 | #3,939 | 0.02 |
| 2008 | 24 | #5,939 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 18 | #7,372 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 29 | #4,943 | 0.02 |
| 2005 | 15 | #7,865 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 13 | #8,676 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 23 | #5,401 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 13 | #8,243 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 11 | #9,305 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 19 | #5,920 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 13 | #7,677 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 9 | #10,049 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 12 | #7,703 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 8 | #10,483 | under 0.01 |
| 1995 | 10 | #8,704 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 7 | #11,694 | under 0.01 |
| 1993 | 8 | #10,516 | under 0.01 |
| 1991 | 10 | #8,553 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 12 | #7,271 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 9 | #8,702 | under 0.01 |
| 1988 | 14 | #5,875 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 9 | #7,944 | 0.01 |
| 1986 | 6 | #10,810 | under 0.01 |
| 1985 | 13 | #5,654 | 0.01 |
| 1984 | 16 | #4,726 | 0.01 |
| 1983 | 11 | #6,187 | 0.01 |
| 1982 | 7 | #9,167 | under 0.01 |
| 1981 | 13 | #5,555 | 0.01 |
| 1980 | 18 | #4,313 | 0.01 |
| 1979 | 9 | #7,278 | 0.01 |
| 1978 | 15 | #4,668 | 0.01 |
| 1977 | 13 | #5,193 | 0.01 |
| 1976 | 13 | #4,890 | 0.01 |
| 1975 | 22 | #3,251 | 0.02 |
| 1974 | 17 | #3,847 | 0.01 |
| 1973 | 19 | #3,467 | 0.01 |
| 1972 | 10 | #5,445 | 0.01 |
| 1971 | 11 | #5,105 | 0.01 |
| 1970 | 13 | #4,473 | 0.01 |
| 1969 | 10 | #5,024 | 0.01 |
| 1968 | 17 | #3,300 | 0.01 |
| 1967 | 8 | #5,416 | under 0.01 |
| 1966 | 11 | #4,176 | 0.01 |
| 1965 | 26 | #2,404 | 0.01 |
| 1964 | 17 | #3,229 | 0.01 |
| 1963 | 33 | #2,092 | 0.02 |
| 1962 | 28 | #2,307 | 0.01 |
| 1961 | 12 | #3,997 | 0.01 |
| 1960 | 25 | #2,427 | 0.01 |
| 1959 | 32 | #2,012 | 0.02 |
| 1958 | 16 | #3,070 | 0.01 |
| 1957 | 40 | #1,725 | 0.02 |
| 1956 | 25 | #2,244 | 0.01 |
| 1955 | 30 | #1,975 | 0.02 |
| 1954 | 30 | #1,944 | 0.02 |
| 1953 | 46 | #1,456 | 0.02 |
| 1952 | 32 | #1,775 | 0.02 |
| 1951 | 32 | #1,733 | 0.02 |
| 1950 | 32 | #1,674 | 0.02 |
| 1949 | 52 | #1,275 | 0.03 |
| 1948 | 47 | #1,355 | 0.03 |
| 1947 | 51 | #1,288 | 0.03 |
| 1946 | 47 | #1,271 | 0.03 |
| 1945 | 48 | #1,139 | 0.04 |
| 1944 | 60 | #1,014 | 0.05 |
| 1943 | 55 | #1,084 | 0.04 |
| 1942 | 67 | #958 | 0.05 |
| 1941 | 51 | #1,029 | 0.04 |
| 1940 | 81 | #789 | 0.07 |
| 1939 | 77 | #784 | 0.07 |
| 1938 | 102 | #681 | 0.09 |
| 1937 | 86 | #732 | 0.08 |
| 1936 | 110 | #633 | 0.11 |
| 1935 | 106 | #634 | 0.10 |
| 1934 | 108 | #646 | 0.10 |
| 1933 | 125 | #574 | 0.12 |
| 1932 | 139 | #555 | 0.13 |
| 1931 | 135 | #569 | 0.13 |
| 1930 | 148 | #559 | 0.13 |
| 1929 | 185 | #496 | 0.17 |
| 1928 | 197 | #491 | 0.17 |
| 1927 | 220 | #472 | 0.18 |
| 1926 | 216 | #471 | 0.18 |
| 1925 | 284 | #408 | 0.23 |
| 1924 | 297 | #399 | 0.24 |
| 1923 | 272 | #407 | 0.23 |
| 1922 | 327 | #366 | 0.27 |
| 1921 | 333 | #364 | 0.27 |
| 1920 | 365 | #343 | 0.30 |
| 1919 | 424 | #307 | 0.38 |
| 1918 | 388 | #327 | 0.34 |
| 1917 | 459 | #287 | 0.42 |
| 1916 | 457 | #278 | 0.44 |
| 1915 | 499 | #263 | 0.51 |
| 1914 | 404 | #256 | 0.53 |
| 1913 | 303 | #267 | 0.49 |
| 1912 | 283 | #265 | 0.51 |
| 1911 | 219 | #263 | 0.52 |
| 1910 | 219 | #260 | 0.55 |
| 1909 | 210 | #245 | 0.60 |
| 1908 | 198 | #245 | 0.59 |
| 1907 | 217 | #225 | 0.68 |
| 1906 | 161 | #259 | 0.55 |
| 1905 | 172 | #242 | 0.59 |
| 1904 | 189 | #221 | 0.69 |
| 1903 | 179 | #223 | 0.68 |
| 1902 | 159 | #243 | 0.60 |
| 1901 | 156 | #234 | 0.65 |
| 1900 | 201 | #223 | 0.67 |
| 1899 | 175 | #210 | 0.75 |
| 1898 | 225 | #194 | 0.87 |
| 1897 | 199 | #197 | 0.85 |
| 1896 | 189 | #202 | 0.79 |
| 1895 | 212 | #185 | 0.91 |
| 1894 | 198 | #187 | 0.89 |
| 1893 | 202 | #178 | 0.95 |
| 1892 | 195 | #180 | 0.92 |
| 1891 | 207 | #161 | 1.1 |
| 1890 | 207 | #167 | 1.1 |
| 1889 | 188 | #161 | 1.1 |
| 1888 | 154 | #181 | 0.86 |
| 1887 | 140 | #169 | 1.0 |
| 1886 | 143 | #162 | 1.0 |
| 1885 | 101 | #187 | 0.76 |
| 1884 | 145 | #148 | 1.1 |
| 1883 | 114 | #157 | 1.0 |
| 1882 | 104 | #158 | 1.0 |
| 1881 | 82 | #165 | 0.89 |
| 1880 | 83 | #160 | 0.91 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Tillie a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Tillie has been given almost only to girls: 27 boys in 145 years of records.
Girls and boys named Tillie: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Tillie, and how old are they?
3,050 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 19% of the 15,765 Americans ever recorded as Tillie. The median Tillie alive today is 17 years old; half are between 5 and 69.
The 2020 Census counted 2,389 people named Tillie (2,377 women and girls, 12 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 2,701 born in the U.S. The Census count is 12% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 431 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 473 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 215 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 149 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 337 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,420 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Tillie born?
The states with the most babies named Tillie are New York, Pennsylvania and Texas, with 39% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 1,218 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Pennsylvania | 877 | #1,380 | 1.1× |
| Texas | 558 | #1,609 | 0.8× |
| California | 557 | #3,490 | 1.0× |
| Illinois | 512 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| New Mexico | 381 | not ranked | 6.9× |
| Ohio | 287 | #794 | 0.6× |
| Michigan | 256 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| North Dakota | 247 | not ranked | 3.4× |
| New Jersey | 213 | not ranked | 0.7× |
Where Tillie is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Tillie is most over-represented in New Mexico: since 1910 it was given 6.9 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Tillie with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 6 names spelled alike, given to 19,458 babies since 1880, Tillie is the most given (81% of them). In 2025 it was given to 177 of their 536 babies (33%), the second most given that year.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Tillie
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Tillie and names like it
- Compare Tillie and TillyBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sTillie peaked in 1915.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Tillie since 1910.
- The top names of 1915The year the most babies were named Tillie.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Tillie alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with TMost given first.