Family name origins & meanings
- English : variant spelling of Silley, a variant of Seeley. This is a frequent NH name.
- Americanized spelling of German Zille, perhaps a metonymic occupational name for a bargee, from Middle High German zülle ‘barge’, mainly used in Saxony and the Berlin area.
- Americanized form of South German Killer, a variant of Kilian, or a habitational name from a place near Hechingen (Württemberg).