Skipper
A name of Dutch origin meaning "commander of a ship or boat".
Name Census estimates that about 661 living Americans carry the first name Skipper. It is a predominantly male name (99.3% of registrations). The average person named Skipper today is around 61 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Skipper births was 1962 (33 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Skipper. 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.
People living today
661
~ 1 in 518,539 Americans
Peak year
1962
33 babies that year
Average age
61
years old
1990 SSA rank
#9,312
Tracked since 1937
Census
Skipper in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 475 people with the first name Skipper, which placed it at #21,400 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#21,400
National first-name rank
People counted
475
475 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
87.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Skipper
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Skipper is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Black (4.6%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Skipper described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Skipper at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.2% · 414
- Black or African American4.6% · 22
- Two or more races2.5% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Skipper
Out of the 830 babies given the name Skipper since 1880, 99.3% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Skipper as a male name
- Ranked #9,312 in 1990
- 5 male births in 1990
- Peak: 1962 (33 births)
Skipper as a female name
- Ranked #15,063 in 2022
- 6 female births in 2022
- Peak: 2022 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Skipper leans strongly male. 410 people counted with this name were male (88.2%), compared with 55 female bearers (11.8%).
Popularity
Skipper: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Skipper from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 234 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Skipper 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 Skipper during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Skippers live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, South Carolina recorded the most babies named Skipper, while South Carolina, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Skipper
The name Skipper originated from the Dutch language, derived from the word "schipper," which means "boatman" or "ship captain." It emerged during the Middle Ages, around the 13th to 15th centuries, when maritime trade and exploration were flourishing in the Netherlands and surrounding regions.
The name's etymology reflects its close association with seafaring and naval traditions. In its early days, Skipper was likely a nickname or occupational title bestowed upon individuals who commanded ships or boats, reflecting their expertise in navigation and leadership on the high seas.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Skipper can be traced back to the 16th century, when it appeared in Dutch historical records and maritime logs. During this period, the Netherlands established itself as a prominent naval power, and the name Skipper likely gained greater prominence among Dutch seafarers and merchant sailors.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Skipper. One of the most famous was Skipper Worse (1532-1610), a renowned Norwegian naval officer and explorer known for his expeditions to the Arctic regions. He played a pivotal role in mapping the coastlines of Greenland and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard.
Another prominent figure was Skipper Shamus O'Brien (1718-1796), an Irish pirate and privateer who operated in the Caribbean during the 18th century. His daring exploits and reputation as a skilled navigator earned him a place in maritime folklore.
In the realm of literature, Skipper Caleb Sprague (1783-1859) was an American sea captain and author who wrote several popular maritime novels and memoirs, including "The Pilot" and "The Red Rover," which provided vivid accounts of life at sea during the Age of Sail.
The name Skipper also found its way into the world of sports, with Skipper Harris (1879-1945), an American baseball player who played for various Major League Baseball teams in the early 20th century, earning recognition for his defensive skills as a catcher.
Lastly, Skipper Winstead (1902-1983) was a renowned American aviator and flight instructor who trained numerous pilots during World War II. His contributions to aviation and his dedication to imparting knowledge and skills to future generations of pilots solidified his place in aviation history.
People
Skipper + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Skipper 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
Skipper: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Skipper?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 661 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Skipper 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 518,539 US residents.
Is Skipper a common name?
We classify Skipper as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 830 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Skipper most popular?
The single biggest year for Skipper was 1962, when 33 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Skipper is about 61 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Skipper in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 475 people with the name Skipper, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,400 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Skipper in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Skipper?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Skipper leans strongly male. 410 people counted with this name were male (88.2%), compared with 55 female bearers (11.8%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Skipper?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Skipper is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Black (4.6%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Skipper most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Skipper in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.2% (414 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Skipper in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Skipper a male name?
Yes, 99.3% of people registered as Skipper in the SSA data are male. 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 Skipper still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Skipper 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 Skipper 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.
How many people have Skipper 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.