This name derives from Till, a pet form of the female personal name Matilda (from the Olde German meaning "mighty battle maid") plus the diminutive suffix "ot" or "ett". One, Tillot Hobwyfe is recorded in the 1379 "Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire". The first recording of the surname is earlier, (see below). In 1593, the marriage of one, Richard Tyllett and Johan Tene is entered in the register of St. Dionis, Backchurch, London. The surname is well recorded in Essex church Registers from the early 17th Century onwards. On April 3rd 1621, Sarah, daughter of Thurston and Joyce Tillett was christened at Clochester. The variant spellings Tillit and Tillet appear in 1622 and 1635 respectively (Colchester). In the modern idiom, the name is spelt Tillet or Tillott. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Cecilia Tillote. which was dated 1279, The Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire. during the reign of King Edward I, The Hammer of the Scots, 1272 - 1307. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.