The comic strip by Russ Westover was about an office worker named Tillie Jones, There were several in this genré, the first was "Somebody's Stenog" by Alfred Hayward for the Ledger syndicate in 1918. It was followed by Martin Branner's "Winnie Winkle" for the Chicago Tribune in 1920. Tillie was for the Hearst Corporation's King features Syndicate, beginning in 1921, and lasting until 1959. In it's final years it was drawn by Bob Gustafson.
In the comic strip the film is based on, the lead character's name is Tillie Jones, but for some reason, the screenwriters changed it to Tillie Tompkins.