2000
#135,837
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Skille
An occupational surname derived from the Old Norse word "skili" meaning skilled or skillful person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 123 Americans carry the last name Skille. That puts it at #151,639 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,786,621 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Skille 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.
Bearers in the US
123
1 in 2,786,621
Census rank
#151,639
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
107
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 107 bearers of the surname Skille in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 151639th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Skille, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Skille
The surname SKILLE originated in Norway during the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. It is derived from the Old Norse word "skil," which means "discernment" or "understanding." This suggests that the name may have initially been given to someone known for their wisdom or intellectual abilities.
In its earliest recorded form, the name was often spelled as "Skille" or "Skilli." These variations likely stemmed from regional dialects and the lack of standardized spelling conventions at the time. Some historians believe the name may have also been influenced by the Old Norse word "skil," meaning "boundary" or "division," potentially indicating that the original bearers of the name lived near a border or boundary.
One of the earliest known references to the SKILLE name can be found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian diplomas and documents. In the 14th century, a man named Erling Skille is mentioned as a witness to a land transaction in the region of Vestfold, located in southeastern Norway.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the SKILLE name began to appear more frequently in church records and census documents across various parts of Norway. Notable individuals from this period include Hans Skille (1585-1648), a prominent merchant and landowner in the city of Bergen, and Kirsten Skille (1620-1692), a respected midwife and healer in the village of Lom.
In the 18th century, the SKILLE name gained recognition through the achievements of Peder Skille (1718-1789), a renowned clockmaker and inventor from Trondheim. His intricate timepieces were highly sought after by the Norwegian aristocracy and earned him widespread acclaim throughout Scandinavia.
As the SKILLE family expanded and migrated to other parts of Europe and North America in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the name underwent various spelling changes, such as "Skill," "Skil," and "Skille." One notable figure from this era was the Swedish-American painter Gustaf Skille (1857-1939), whose landscapes and portraits captured the beauty of the American Midwest.
Throughout its long history, the SKILLE surname has been associated with individuals from diverse backgrounds, including scholars, artisans, merchants, and creative professionals. While its origins can be traced back to medieval Norway, the name has left an indelible mark on many cultures and societies around the world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Skille
Among Census respondents with the surname Skille, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Skille 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 Skille surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.3% · 103
- Two or more races2.8% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Skille
Skille 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
#149,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-4 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,558 places
2020
#151,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
-3 bearers (-2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,244 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #135,837 | 114 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #149,395 | 110 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.5%) | Down 13,558 places |
| 2020 | #151,639 | 107 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.7%) | Down 2,244 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 Skille 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 | #149,395 | #151,639 | -1.5% |
| Count | 110 | 107 | -2.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Skille bearers went from 110 to 107 (-2.7% change). The surname moved down 2,244 positions in the national ranking, going from #149,395 to #151,639.
FAQ
Skille surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Skille?
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the surname Skille. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,786,621 residents.
How common is Skille?
Skille ranks #151,639 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 107 people with the surname Skille. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (123), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Skille.
Has Skille become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Skille went from 110 recorded bearers to 107. That is a decrease of 3 (-2.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #149,395 to #151,639.
What does the Census say about the background of Skille?
Among Census respondents with the surname Skille, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Skille in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.3% (103 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Skille appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.3%), Two or More Races (2.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Skille (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 Skille mean?
An occupational surname derived from the Old Norse word "skili" meaning skilled or skillful person. 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 Skille (0.04 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 people share the surname Skille?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.