2000
#10,794
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,713
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.01
Rare Last name
Skiba
A Polish occupational surname derived from the word "skiba," meaning a slice of bread or a clod of earth.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,933 Americans carry the last name Skiba. That puts it at #11,717 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.86 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 116,861 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Skiba surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Skiba with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.9K
1 in 116,861
Census rank
#11,717
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,558 bearers of the surname Skiba in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.86 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11717th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Skiba, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Skiba
The surname SKIBA is of Polish origin, derived from the Old Polish word "skiba," which means a furrow or a strip of plowed land. The name dates back to the 14th century and was initially used as a descriptive byname for someone who worked as a farmer or lived near a plowed field.
The earliest known record of the SKIBA surname can be found in the Metryka Koronna, a collection of official documents from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, dating back to the late 14th century. One of the first recorded instances of the name appears in an entry from 1385, referring to a certain "Jan Skiba."
In the following centuries, the SKIBA surname was widespread throughout various regions of Poland, particularly in the central and southern parts of the country. It was often associated with rural communities and agricultural traditions.
One notable figure bearing the SKIBA surname was Jan Skiba (c. 1560-1630), a Polish poet, and writer who lived during the Renaissance period. His works included religious poetry and translations of classical texts.
Another individual of note was Jakub Skiba (1892-1957), a Polish author and journalist who wrote extensively about the struggles of the working class and the labor movement in the early 20th century.
In the 19th century, a place named Skibinka (meaning "little furrow") existed in the Kalisz region of central Poland, likely derived from the SKIBA surname and reflecting its connection to agricultural roots.
Other notable individuals with the SKIBA surname include Stanisław Skiba (1898-1962), a Polish military officer who fought in World War II, and Ewa Skiba (born 1958), a contemporary Polish writer and journalist.
Throughout its history, the SKIBA surname has maintained its strong ties to Polish culture and heritage, reflecting the country's agricultural traditions and the importance of farming in shaping its rural communities.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Skiba
Among Census respondents with the surname Skiba, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Skiba bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Skiba surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.5% · 2,391
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 82
- Two or more races2.2% · 56
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 17
- Black or African American0.4% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Skiba
Skiba appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#11,620
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,700
-13 bearers (-0.5%)
Per 100,000 0.92
Rank movement Down 826 places
2020
#11,717
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,558
-142 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 0.86
Rank movement Down 97 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,794 | 2,713 | 1.01 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,620 | 2,700 | 0.92 | -13 bearers (-0.5%) | Down 826 places |
| 2020 | #11,717 | 2,558 | 0.86 | -142 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 97 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Skiba surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #11,620 | #11,717 | -0.8% |
| Count | 2,700 | 2,558 | -5.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.92 | 0.86 | -7.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Skiba bearers went from 2,700 to 2,558 (-5.3% change). The surname moved down 97 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,620 to #11,717.
FAQ
Skiba surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Skiba?
Name Census estimates that about 2,933 living Americans carry the surname Skiba. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 116,861 residents.
How common is Skiba?
Skiba ranks #11,717 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.86 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,558 people with the surname Skiba. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,933), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.86 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.86 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Skiba.
Has Skiba become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Skiba went from 2,700 recorded bearers to 2,558. That is a decrease of 142 (-5.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,620 to #11,717.
What does the Census say about the background of Skiba?
Among Census respondents with the surname Skiba, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Skiba in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (2,391 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Skiba appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.5%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (2.2%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Skiba (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Skiba mean?
A Polish occupational surname derived from the word "skiba," meaning a slice of bread or a clod of earth. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Skiba (0.86 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Skiba?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.