The Skipper surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 10,338 people carried this name — #3,457 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 28,600 people counted. That is up 3% from 10,010 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Skipper surname

As an English and Welsh surname

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

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 695 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

22 families named Skipper, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 129 people lived in those households, 5.9 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 3 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

South Carolina 11
North Carolina 10
New York 1

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

Skipper in American newspapers,
1903–1905.

Newspaper page from The Lancaster Ledger carrying the name Skipper
The Lancaster Ledger 1903-12-30
Newspaper page from Lancaster Enterprise carrying the name Skipper
Lancaster Enterprise 1903-12-30
Newspaper page from The News And Herald carrying the name Skipper
The News And Herald 1905-03-08

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 452 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Skipper in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

15,713 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Skipper. The most, 3,885, date from the 1910s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in South Australia, at 4.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

South Australia 8,483
New South Wales 2,331
Queensland 2,057
Victoria 1,104
Tasmania 1,000
Western Australia 632
ACT (Canberra) 74
Northern Territory 11

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

Who carried it

People named Skipper,
with a public archive behind them.

  • John Michael Skipper
    John Michael Skipper 1815–1883 · solicitor
  • George Skipper d. 1997
  • Robert Skipper d. 1850
  • John Skipper 1782–1863
  • Frances Amelia Skipper 1818–1855
  • William Skipper 1819–

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Skipper,
in the records of 4 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 States516 records

516 records of the Skipper name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 343
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 116
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 18
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 16
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 10
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 9
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record James W. Skipper

    Born 1913 in Alabama. Enlisted 1942 at Fort McClellan; farm hand from Dale County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1974, buried at New Hope Baptist Church Cemetery, Newville, Alabama.

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

    Arrived at New York in 1866 aboard the Freihandel from Bremen, aged 36; cooper. From Hanover, Germany.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record James E. Skipper

    Born 1933; from Escambia County, Florida. U.S. Army, light weapons infantry leader; killed in action 1952 in North Korea.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 516 records for Skipper in the United States.

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

Australia246 records

246 records of the Skipper name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 115
  • Tasmanian Names Index 65
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 37
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 16
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 10
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 2
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  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 James Skipper

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Maitland, arriving 1840; certificate of freedom 1846.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Henry Skipper

    Arrived in Victoria in 1856 aboard the Carntyne, aged 3; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Edwin Victor Skipper

    Shoe manufacturer of Toorak, Victoria; died 1968.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 246 records for Skipper in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (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). 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada16 records

16 records of the Skipper name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 7
  • City of Niagara Falls (Ontario) cemetery records 6
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Dorothy Skipper

    Buried in 1921 at Fairview Cemetery, Niagara Falls, Ontario.

    City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record George Lawrence Skipper

    Died 1968 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Arthur Skipper

    Died in service in 1916.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 16 records for Skipper in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom7 records

7 records of the Skipper name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. G. Skipper

    Machine Gun Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record S. Skipper

    Humberland Fusiliers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record G. A. Skipper

    London Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 7 records for Skipper in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Skipper.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Skipper 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.

See the Skipper volume
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