Who is Tillymint?

When I launched my marketing communications business, I wanted to give it a name that had a personal connection, an affinity with who I am…and so I called it Tillymint. This always triggers a conversation, because those who are familiar with my home city are very likely to be familiar with the name.

Quite simply, it’s a Scouse colloquialism for a sassy young lass – a nickname that was given to me by my Mum as I was growing up and frequently used if I was chancing my hand or being a bit cheeky.

“Hey Tillymint, what do you think you are doing?” she might say. It proved to be my ace card because every time she used it, I knew that my actions had fallen just on the right side of being tantalisingly tenacious…a development of attitude that would prove useful for a career in journalism and PR.

Above all, it was a term of affection, anchored in my past and my Liverpudlian origins.

I am often asked where the name comes from, so I thought that I would carry out a bit of detective work and found some interesting leads.

Having ‘Googled it’, I turned up this little gem…not so much about its origins but an interesting take on how it’s been used. American TV star Ellen DeGeneras found it was included within her imdb profile a nickname with which she lays no claim. But it’s worth watching just to hear Tillymint delivered in a Louisiana accent.

She too did a web trawl to  find out ‘what is Tilly Mint?’ stumbling across a Yahoo ‘best answer’: a ‘female equivalent’ to Dickie Mint (further confusion).

Across the cultural divide this meant nothing to the US comedienne. Those of us this side of the pond however, may remember Ken Dodd’s Diddymen…including the aforementioned Dickie Mint.

So, we’re back in Liverpool….a trail supported by this blog post from Independent Liverpool which pulled together some threads around the origins of the ‘mint’ names. These appear to have evolved from a previous variant, Dicky Sam – Dicky thought to be a corruption of the word docker – relating to the city’s shipping prominence.

Ultimately for me, it is a term of endearment…and it is part of who I am – my home city, my family, my beginnings – and it now represents what I do as well.

There are lots of businesses out there using the name: tea shops, gift shops nurseries…probably each with personal links to the moniker. There’s even a series of children’s books called The Tilly Mint Tales

Even at home, the presence of Tilly looms large…one of my cats bears the name and is regularly dubbed ‘Minters’.

So, who or what is Tillymint? Quite simply, the cat’s whiskers!

Have you got a story to tell?

Let us help you tell your tale – from copywriting and content creation to wider marketing communications. Email info@tillymint.co.uk