Tiller
An occupational surname for a husbandman or land-cultivator—literally, someone who tills the soil.
The #4,463 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 38,816 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is usually explained as an occupational name for a person who tills the ground, especially a husbandman or farm laborer. The core idea comes from Old English and Middle English words connected with tilling and cultivation, with the later English agent suffix -er helping form the surname shape. In some historical discussions, it is also linked to older forms meaning a worker of the land, rather than to the separate common noun for the steering handle of a boat.
History
English occupational surnames of this kind became hereditary in the Middle Ages, especially as names based on everyday rural work. Historical surname writers also compared Tiller with related forms such as Tillier and Tillman, all pointing toward agricultural labor. The name remains most strongly associated with England, though it spread widely in later centuries through migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Victorian surname writers sometimes grouped Tiller with a broader family of farming names, including Harrower and Acreman, all tied to working the land.
From the historical record
“TILLCOCK= TilP,' (q.y.)-t-the pet suff. -cocit. TILLER I (Eng.) iHusbandman [f. O.E. tilia, TILLIER J land-cultivator, labourer; with later E. agent, suff. -er, or A.-Fr. -jer] The stalke, the greyne, and floures alle. That to the tilieris f6rdone[destroyed]: — Chaucer, Som. of the Rose, 4338-9. 2 Good' Army…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)