Tilman
A masculine name of Germanic origin representing a brave protector or defender.
Name Census estimates that about 378 living Americans carry the first name Tilman. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tilman today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tilman births was 1926 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tilman. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
378
~ 1 in 906,758 Americans
Peak year
1926
26 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
2023 SSA rank
#10,690
Tracked since 1881
Census
Tilman in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 450 people with the first name Tilman, which placed it at #22,210 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#22,210
National first-name rank
People counted
450
450 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
74.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tilman
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tilman is White at 74.2%. The next largest groups are Black (18.4%) and Hispanic (2.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Tilman described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Tilman at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.2% · 334
- Black or African American18.4% · 83
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.2% · 10
- Two or more races2.0% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 1
Popularity
Tilman: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tilman from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 202 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tilman by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Tilman during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tilmans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas recorded the most babies named Tilman, while Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tilman
The name Tilman has its origins in the German language. It is a compound name derived from the Old Germanic elements "til" meaning "resolute" or "steadfast" and "man" meaning "man" or "person". Together, the name can be interpreted as meaning "resolute man" or "steadfast person".
The earliest known recorded use of the name Tilman dates back to the Middle Ages in Germanic-speaking regions of Europe. It was a common name among nobility and commoners alike during this time period.
One of the earliest known historical figures to bear the name Tilman was Tilman of Remagen, a German monk who lived in the 12th century. He is known for his writings on theology and philosophy.
Another notable Tilman from history was Tilman Riemenschneider, a German sculptor and woodcarver who lived from 1460 to 1531. He is considered one of the greatest sculptors of the German Renaissance period.
In the 16th century, Tilman Susato was a renowned composer and music publisher from the Low Countries. He was active in Antwerp and published numerous works by other composers during his lifetime.
Fast forward to the 19th century, and we have Tilman Riemenschneider, a German architect and civil engineer who was born in 1818. He is known for his work on the construction of several important bridges and buildings in Germany.
Lastly, Tilman Fertitta is a modern-day American businessman and entrepreneur who was born in 1957. He is the owner of several hospitality and entertainment companies, including the Landry's restaurant chain and the Golden Nugget casino and hotel chain.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Tilman. The name has maintained its popularity in German-speaking regions and has also spread to other parts of the world over time.
People
Tilman + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tilman as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Tilman: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tilman?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 378 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tilman going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 906,758 US residents.
Is Tilman a common name?
We classify Tilman as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 930 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tilman most popular?
The single biggest year for Tilman was 1926, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tilman is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tilman in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 450 people with the name Tilman, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,210 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Tilman in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Tilman?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tilman appears almost entirely male. Of the 454 people counted with this name, 99.1% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Tilman?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tilman is White at 74.2%. The next largest groups are Black (18.4%) and Hispanic (2.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Tilman most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Tilman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.2% (334 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Tilman in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tilman a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tilman in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Tilman still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tilman in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Tilman can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Tilman?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Tilman at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.