Tilton
A habitational surname meaning “from Tilton,” especially the place in Leicestershire.
The #4,376 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 38,004 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Tilton is a habitational surname taken from places called Tilton in England, most notably Tilton in Leicestershire. The place-name is generally explained as an Old English formation meaning something like “the tūn of a person named Tila” or possibly a “tilt-” shaped enclosure, though older sources were not fully certain. In surname use, it simply marked someone as coming from that village or parish.
History
Medieval records show the surname in forms such as de Tylton and de Tildenne, which reflects the usual habitational pattern of naming people after their home place. It is found in English records from at least the 13th century. Later the name spread beyond its original locality, including to North America through English migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One 19th-century compiler linked Tilton to the idea of an ancient place for tents or tilting, but that explanation is speculative and not the standard modern view.
From the historical record
“Essex and the other in co. Rent. Also a township is so called in the parish of Tilton, co. Leicester. (i) supplies tbe derivation of this place-word. Nearly all our Hal- steads hail from Yorkshire, from a spot I cannot discover,”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances