Skila
An Old Norse unisex name meaning "intelligence" or "wisdom".
Name Census estimates that about 81 living Americans carry the first name Skila. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Skila today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Skila births was 2006 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Skila. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Skila. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
81
~ 1 in 4,231,535 Americans
Peak year
2006
14 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2015 SSA rank
#12,859
Tracked since 1990
Popularity
Skila: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Skila from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 51 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Skila by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Skila during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Skila
The name Skila is believed to have originated from the ancient Germanic language, with roots dating back to the 5th century AD. It is derived from the Proto-Germanic word "skilaz," which means "to separate" or "to divide." This etymology suggests that the name may have held significance in the context of territorial boundaries or divisions among early Germanic tribes.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Skila can be found in the Icelandic Landnámabók, a medieval manuscript that chronicles the settlement of Iceland. In this text, a Norse settler named Skila Thorfinnsson is mentioned as one of the first inhabitants of the Westfjords region, arriving around the late 9th or early 10th century.
During the Viking Age, the name Skila gained prominence among Scandinavian communities. It is believed that a notable figure named Skila Thorvaldsson, a skilled navigator and explorer, accompanied Erik the Red on his voyage to Greenland in the late 10th century. Skila's contributions to these early explorations may have contributed to the name's lasting legacy in the region.
In the 11th century, the name Skila appears in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of medieval literary works that recount the lives and adventures of Norse heroes and settlers. One such figure is Skila Ingolfsson, a legendary Icelandic chieftain who is said to have established the first permanent settlement in Reykjavík.
Moving into the Middle Ages, the name Skila was also found in various historical records across Europe. In the 13th century, Skila von Halberstadt, a German noblewoman and landowner, was a prominent figure in the region of Saxony-Anhalt. Her legacy is documented in local chronicles and land registers from that era.
Skila Eriksdotter, a Swedish noblewoman born in the late 15th century, played a significant role in the political and religious conflicts of the Scandinavian Reformation. Her unwavering support for the Lutheran cause and her influential writings on religious reform have been well-documented in historical accounts from that period.
Despite its ancient origins, the name Skila has endured through the centuries, appearing in various cultural contexts and historical records. These examples provide a glimpse into the rich history and the lasting impact of this name across different regions and eras.
People
Skila + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Skila as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Skila: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Skila?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 81 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Skila going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 4,231,535 US residents.
Is Skila a common name?
We classify Skila as "Very Rare". It ranks above 61.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 82 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Skila most popular?
The single biggest year for Skila was 2006, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Skila is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Skila in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Skila a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Skila in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Skila still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Skila in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Skila can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Skila as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.