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Dill Family History

Dill Surname Meaning

German: from a pet form of the personal name Dietrich. German: metonymic occupational name for a sawyer from Middle High German dill(e) ‘(floor)board’. German: habitational name from Dill (Rhineland-Palatinate) or Dille (Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia).

English and German: possibly a nickname for a grower or seller of dill, the umbelliferous plant Anethum graveolens, an aromatic culinary and medicinal herb, from Middle English dile (Old English dyle, dile) and Middle High German tille, dille ‘dill’.

English and Scottish: nickname for a dull or slow person from Middle English delle, dil(le), dul(le) (Old English dol, dylle) ‘dull, foolish’.

English: from a Middle English personal name Dille, Delle, Dulle (Old English Dulla, Dylli or Dylla) evidenced in placenames like Dullingham (Cambridgeshire), Dillington (former Huntingdonshire), and Dilton (Wiltshire), all probably deriving from Old English dol, dylle ‘dull’.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


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Where is the Dill family from?

You can see how Dill families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Dill family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Dill families were found in USA in 1880. In 1891 there were 44 Dill families living in London. This was about 30% of all the recorded Dill's in United Kingdom. London had the highest population of Dill families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Dill surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your Dill ancestors do for a living?

In 1939, Unpaid Domestic Duties was the top reported job for people in the United Kingdom named Dill. 83% of Dill women worked as an Unpaid Domestic Duties.

View Census Data for Dill | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Female Occupations In 1939

  • Unpaid Domestic Duties
    83%
  • None
    8%
  • Household Duties
    6%
  • Unpaid Domestic
    6%

What Dill family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 89,000 census records available for the last name Dill. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Dill census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search UK census records for Dill

Passenger Lists

There are 8,000 immigration records available for the last name Dill. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Dill immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 23,000 military records available for the last name Dill. For the veterans among your Dill ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Dill military records

You've only scratched the surface of Dill family history

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What is the average Dill lifespan?

Between 1944 and 2004, in the United States, Dill life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1945, and highest in 1999. The average life expectancy for Dill in 1944 was 53, and 74 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Dill

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Dill ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

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