Given name & surname
Till
“the power of the people”·“the ruler of the tribe”
Till is a form of Theodoric. One German interpretation is “the power of the people.” In Low German use, Till is an affectionate form of Dietrich. One German interpretation is “the ruler of the tribe.”
Original GermanDieter
Meaning & origin
What it means
In German use, Till carries the interpretation “the power of the people.” Till is a form of Theodoric. One German interpretation is “the power of the people.” In Low German use, Till is an affectionate form of Dietrich. One German interpretation is “the ruler of the tribe.”
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is German.
How it developed
Till is used as a form of Theodoric.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1915. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Till through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 51
- 51 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2011
- 8 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 6 in 2024. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 8 in 2011. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 225 as a first name in 2020; 3,858 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Till’s family of names
In German usage, Till is a diminutive of Dieter. Till has a related form in Tillie. Till is an affectionate form of Dietrich.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 16
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Till
- Till LindemannGerman singer (born 1963)
- Till BrönnerGerman jazz musicianborn 1971
- Till SteinforthGerman athleteborn 2002
- Till Wöschlerjavelin throwerborn 1991
- Till SchumacherGerman association football playerborn 1997
- Till CissokhoSenegalese and French association football playerborn 2000
- Till BackhausGerman politicianborn 1959
- Till DrobischNamibian racing cyclistborn 1993
- Till RoennebergGerman biologistborn 1953
Characters named Till: Till Eulenspiegel (German folklore).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
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