Baby Names US
girls' name ★ peaked 1915

Tillie

Meaning A diminutive of the female given name Matilda Gender Girl Rank 2025 #1,269 Trend ↑ Rising 81%

A diminutive of the female given name Matilda.

Rank 2025
#1,269
among girls · ↓34 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
177
named Tillie · -7% vs 2024
How common
1 in 9,081
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1915
505 babies
All-time total
15,765
#1,244 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Tillie popularity over time

15,765 babies have been named Tillie since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.380.751.131.518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 1,254 – 1,254 125 – #148
1890s 2,009 – 2,009 201 +60% #161
1900s 1,842 5 1,847 185 -8% #221
1910s 3,655 11 3,666 367 +98% #256
1920s 2,696 11 2,707 271 -26% #343
1930s 1,136 – 1,136 114 -58% #555
1940s 559 – 559 56 -51% #789
1950s 315 – 315 32 -44% #1,457
1960s 187 – 187 19 -41% #2,093
1970s 142 – 142 14 -24% #3,251
1980s 116 – 116 12 -18% #4,314
1990s 89 – 89 9 -23% #7,277
2000s 205 – 205 21 +130% #3,940
2010s 589 – 589 59 +187% #1,787
2020s (to 2025) 944 – 944 157 +167% #1,235

Where Tillie is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 196 0.12 outside top 500
2027 213 0.13 outside top 500
2028 229 0.14 outside top 500
2029 244 0.15 outside top 500
2030 257 0.16 outside top 500

Where Tillie is most popular

Girls named Tillie per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.103 per 1,000. Strongest in Iowa, Tennessee, and Kentucky.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Tillie born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Iowa 19 0.325 +217%
Tennessee 47 0.297 +189%
Kentucky 25 0.292 +185%
Alabama 23 0.245 +139%
North Carolina 41 0.180 +76%
Missouri 21 0.174 +70%
Ohio 37 0.156 +52%
Wisconsin 15 0.146 +42%
Minnesota 15 0.139 +36%
Arkansas 7 0.132 +29%
Indiana 17 0.121 +18%
Virginia 19 0.111 +9%
Michigan 18 0.099 ≈ national
Georgia 20 0.088 -14%
Kansas 5 0.087 -15%
Illinois 19 0.083 -19%
Oklahoma 6 0.082 -21%
Texas 63 0.078 -24%
Utah 6 0.072 -30%
Pennsylvania 17 0.072 -30%
Louisiana 6 0.069 -33%
Florida 22 0.051 -50%
California 41 0.049 -52%
New York 6 0.015 -85%
Alaska – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Idaho – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Tillie

Tillie is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #1,269 in 2025 with 177 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 15,765 American babies have been named Tillie. Its peak came in 1915, when 505 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1910s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Tillie stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Tillie?

The median living Tillie is about 19 years old; half are between 4 and 73. An estimated 3,200 people named Tillie are alive in the United States today.

median 19 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Tillie year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 177 #1,269 – –
2024 191 #1,235 – –
2023 177 #1,297 – –
2022 156 #1,440 – –
2021 131 #1,609 – –
2020 112 #1,780 – –
2019 115 #1,787 – –
2018 84 #2,216 – –
2017 54 #3,048 – –
2016 71 #2,535 – –
2015 70 #2,585 – –
2014 52 #3,183 – –
2013 42 #3,695 – –
2012 41 #3,848 – –
2011 37 #4,065 – –
2010 23 #5,962 – –
2009 40 #3,940 – –
2008 24 #5,942 – –
2007 18 #7,376 – –
2006 29 #4,944 – –
2005 15 #7,870 – –
2004 13 #8,681 – –
2003 23 #5,406 – –
2002 13 #8,249 – –
2001 11 #9,312 – –
2000 19 #5,925 – –
1995 10 #8,709 – –
1990 12 #7,277 – –
1985 13 #5,656 – –
1980 18 #4,314 – –
1975 22 #3,251 – –
1970 13 #4,474 – –
1965 26 #2,405 – –
1960 25 #2,428 – –
1955 30 #1,976 – –
1950 32 #1,675 – –
1945 48 #1,140 – –
1940 81 #789 – –
1935 106 #634 – –
1930 148 #559 – –
1925 284 #408 – –
1920 365 #343 6 #4,239
1915 499 #263 6 #3,789
1910 219 #260 – –
1905 172 #242 – –
1900 201 #223 – –
1895 212 #185 – –
1890 207 #167 – –
1885 101 #187 – –
1880 83 #160 – –

Famous people named Tillie

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Tillie Olsen Tillie Olsen American writer (1912–2007) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Tillie, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Tillie?

The median living Tillie is about 19 years old. Half of all living Tillies are between 4 and 73 years old.

How many people named Tillie are alive today?

An estimated 3,200 people named Tillie are alive in the United States, based on 15,765 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Tillie mean?

A diminutive of the female given name Matilda.

How popular is the name Tillie in 2025?

Tillie ranked #1,269 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 177 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Tillie?

15,765 babies have been named Tillie in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Tillie most popular?

Tillie peaked in 1915, when 505 newborns received the name.

Is Tillie a boy or girl name?

Tillie is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Tillie rising or falling?

Tillie is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Tillie become more popular?

Tillie is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 257 girls named Tillie in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Tillie?

Well-known people named Tillie include Tillie Olsen (writer).

Names like Tillie

Names that sound and feel close to Tillie: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Tillie with similar names → More names starting with T →