Show ContentsTillis History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Tillis family

The surname Tillis was first found in Prussia and Denmark where the name emerged in medieval times as one of the notable families of the region. From the 13th century the surname was identified with the great social and economic evolution which made this territory a landmark contributor to the development of the nation.

Early History of the Tillis family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Tillis research. Another 91 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1872 is included under the topic Early Tillis History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tillis Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Tillisch, Tillis, Tillish, Tillies, Tillich and others.

Early Notables of the Tillis family

Notable figures of the time with the name Tillis were

  • the Tillisch family of Denmark

Tillis Ranking

In the United States, the name Tillis is the 7,117th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1

Migration of the Tillis family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: settlers who traveled to the New World and established themselves along the eastern seaboard of the United States and Canada in the 18th and 19th centuries..


Contemporary Notables of the name Tillis (post 1700) +

  • Frederick Charles Tillis (1930-2020), American composer, jazz saxophonist, poet, and music educator
  • Lonnie Melvin "Mel" Tillis (1932-2017), American country music singer and songwriter; he won the Country Music Association Awards' most coveted award, Entertainer of the Year in 2012 and was awarded the National Medal of Arts the same year
  • George Tillis, American Republican politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Arkansas 4th District, 1906, 1922; Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Arkansas, 1912, 1928 2
  • Barry H. Tillis, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Florida, 2008 2


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 1) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


Houseofnames.com on Facebook