The Skinner surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 54,046 people carried this name — #627 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 5,460 people counted. That is up 3% from 52,490 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Skinner surname

A surname originating as an occupation.

The family surname is occupational in origin, meaning "one who prepares skins". Before becoming used as a surname the word skinner was commonly used to identify someone who treated animal skins. Alternatively, it may be borrowed from Danish and meaning "Keeper of Robes" or "skins then worn" which also hints at the historical connection to tradespeople who were involved with furs and hides.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Skinner» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as an occupational name: ‘the skinner’.

An early record he cites: Henry le Skyniar’, Oxfordshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 694 · public domain.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

52 people named Skinner live in Switzerland.

They live in 9 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Zurich 13
Basel-Landschaft 9
Vaud 7
Geneva 6
Appenzell Ausserrhoden 4
Graubünden 4
Bern 3
Lucerne 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 36 people named Skinner live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Jujuy.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Jujuy 21
Buenos Aires Province 15

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 31 people named Skinner.

Most of them — 27 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 4 départements, most often Bouches-du-Rhône.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 27
Bouches-du-Rhône 1
Paris 1
Somme 1
Guadeloupe 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In the Nordic population registers

110 people named Skinner is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 110

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Skinner was found among the farmers of 8 counties.

It was most frequent in Kent: 48 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 208. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Kent 48
Devon 47
Norfolk 20
Cornwall 14
Sussex 14
Worcestershire 14
Surrey 12
Lincolnshire 11

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In Scotland’s registers today

Skinner was recorded 47 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 555th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 98. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

234 families named Skinner, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 1,282 people lived in those households, 5.5 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 2 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Connecticut 67
New York 35
Massachusetts 33
Maryland 27
North Carolina 24
Vermont 12
Virginia 10
New Hampshire 9
Pennsylvania 9
Maine 5
South Carolina 3

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 262 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Skinner in American newspapers,
1897–1911.

Newspaper page from The Bourbon News carrying the name Skinner
The Bourbon News 1897-04-27
Newspaper page from The Evening Bulletin carrying the name Skinner
The Evening Bulletin 1900-07-23
Newspaper page from The Brookings Register carrying the name Skinner
The Brookings Register 1911-11-02

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 4,627,784 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Skinner in Australian newspapers,
1800s–2010s.

113,656 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Skinner. The most, 19,110, date from the 1930s.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 37,990
Victoria 28,703
Queensland 20,079
South Australia 13,909
Western Australia 7,922
Tasmania 4,283
ACT (Canberra) 496
Northern Territory 73

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Skinner.

Who carried it

People named Skinner,
with a public archive behind them.

  • William Skinner
    William Skinner 1700–1780 · engineer
  • Thomson J. Skinner
    Thomson J. Skinner 1752–1809 · judge
  • Richard Skinner
    Richard Skinner 1778–1833 · judge
  • John Stuart Skinner
    John Stuart Skinner 1788–1851 · lawyer
  • Avery Skinner
    Avery Skinner 1796–1876 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 195 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Skinner,
in the records of 7 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States4,817 records

4,817 records of the Skinner name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 1,800
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 877
  • Other U.S. records 2,140
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Brian Kay Skinner

    Born 1939; from Denver, Colorado. U.S. Army, infantry unit commander; killed in action 1964 in South Vietnam. Buried at Fort Logan National Cemetery, Colorado.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Douglas E. Skinner

    Born 1922 in Oregon. Enlisted 1942 at Portland; pattern maker from Multnomah County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1980, buried at Riverside National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary L. Skinner

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Ethiopia from Glasgow, aged 56; housekeeper. From Glasgow; bound for Hoboken.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 4,817 records for Skinner in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls) · Ramsey County, Minnesota (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia2,737 records

2,737 records of the Skinner name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1,315
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 454
  • Other Australian records 968
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Jane Skinner

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the New Grove, sailing from London in 1834. Native of Sandford, Devon. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1843. Married 1843 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 22.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record James Skinner

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Forfarshire, sailing from Spithead in 1843. Native of Clapham, Surrey. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1856. Married 1856 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 37.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Elizabeth Skinner

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Gilbert Henderson, sailing from London in 1839. Native of Kennford, Devon. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1841.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 2,737 records for Skinner in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain).

Canada951 records

951 records of the Skinner name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 766
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 48
  • Other Canadian records 137
  1. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Joseph Skinner

    Left New York in 1783 aboard the Beaver, bound for Port Roseway, aged 35.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jas Skinner

    Came to Ontario in 1874 aboard the N. Scotian, bound for Batteaux, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Arthur Vivial Skinner

    Buried in 1964 at Burnsland Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 40.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.

Showing 3 of 951 records for Skinner in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom182 records

182 records of the Skinner name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 95
  • Scottish rolls of honour, First World War 35
  • Other British records 52
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record John Skinner

    Born 1882 at Elgin; ovenman. Served in the First World War. Named in the Morayshire roll of honour (1921).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Cecil Gordon Skinner

    Buried in 1953 at Callander Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 51.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Han H. Skinner

    Buried in 1796 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 64.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 182 records for Skinner in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

New Zealand68 records

68 records of the Skinner name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 61
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 5
  • Other New Zealand records 2
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Harry Skinner

    Died 1909, aged 51; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Theresa Charlotte Skinner

    Buried in 1980 at Totara Memorial Park Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 82.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Valerie Moya Skinner

    Died 1998, aged 76; buried at Fairhall Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 68 records for Skinner in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands18 records

18 records of the Skinner name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 11
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 4
  • Dutch population registers 3
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Leonard Reginald Skinner

    Died 1966 in 's-Gravenhage, aged 56; shop assistant.

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Ida Mae Skinner

    Married in 1945 in Apeldoorn; office clerk.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 18 records for Skinner in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

France7 records

7 records of the Skinner name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Patricia Skinner

    Born 1926 in West Hartlepool (Angleterre); died 1998 in Saint-Martin-Boulogne (Pas-de-Calais).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record John Anthony Skinner

    Born 1942 in the United Kingdom; died 1993 in Dinard (Ille-et-Vilaine).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 7 records for Skinner in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Skinner.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Skinner is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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