2000
#575
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 52,490
First available Census row
Per 100,000 19.46
Uncommon Last name
Skinner
An occupational surname referring to someone who skinned animals for their hides or pelts.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 59,488 Americans carry the last name Skinner. That puts it at #637 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 17.36 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 5,762 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Skinner 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 Skinner with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
59K
1 in 5,762
Census rank
#637
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
17.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
52K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 51,876 bearers of the surname Skinner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 17.36 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 637th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Skinner, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.5%. The next largest groups are Black (14.6%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Skinner
The surname Skinner originated in England and Scotland during the late medieval period. It is an occupational name derived from the Old English word "scinnere," meaning a dealer or worker in skins or hides. The name typically referred to a person who prepared and sold animal skins, a crucial trade in the days before large-scale textile manufacturing.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Skinner can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where a John le Skinnere is mentioned in Oxfordshire. The Skinners are also mentioned in the records of the City of London, where they formed a guild or company in 1311, indicating the prominence of their trade in the medieval era.
In Scotland, the name Skinner has a particularly strong association with the town of Montrose in Angus. Many historic records, such as the Register of the Great Seal of Scotland, mention Skinners from Montrose, suggesting that the trade was well-established in that region.
Renowned individuals with the surname Skinner include John Skinner (1721-1807), a Scottish Episcopal bishop and poet. Another notable figure was Quentin Skinner (1940-2017), a renowned British historian and academic, who made significant contributions to the study of political thought.
Thomas Skinner (1804-1877) was an English lawyer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Boston. In the United States, Otis Skinner (1858-1942) was a prominent actor and playwright, known for his performances in various Shakespeare productions.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Skinner in America is that of Parson Thomas Skinner, who arrived in Boston in 1636 and became a prominent minister in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He was also involved in the founding of Harvard College.
The surname Skinner has a rich history rooted in the medieval trade of skins and hides, reflecting the importance of this craft in the past. While its origins are occupational, the name has been carried by notable individuals across various fields throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Skinner
Among Census respondents with the surname Skinner, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.5%. The next largest groups are Black (14.6%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Skinner 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 Skinner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.5% · 39,710
- Black or African American14.6% · 7,575
- Two or more races4.2% · 2,169
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 1,825
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 311
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 286
Timeline
Historical Census data for Skinner
Skinner 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
#627
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 54,046
+1,556 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 18.32
Rank movement Down 52 places
2020
#637
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 51,876
-2,170 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 17.36
Rank movement Down 10 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #575 | 52,490 | 19.46 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #627 | 54,046 | 18.32 | +1,556 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 52 places |
| 2020 | #637 | 51,876 | 17.36 | -2,170 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 10 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 Skinner 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 | #627 | #637 | -1.6% |
| Count | 54,046 | 51,876 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 18.32 | 17.36 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Skinner bearers went from 54,046 to 51,876 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 10 positions in the national ranking, going from #627 to #637.
FAQ
Skinner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Skinner?
Name Census estimates that about 59,488 living Americans carry the surname Skinner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 5,762 residents.
How common is Skinner?
Skinner ranks #637 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 17.36 per 100,000 residents, which is about 17 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 51,876 people with the surname Skinner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (59,488), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 17.36 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 17.36 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 17 of them to have the surname Skinner.
Has Skinner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Skinner went from 54,046 recorded bearers to 51,876. That is a decrease of 2,170 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #627 to #637.
What does the Census say about the background of Skinner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Skinner, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.5%. The next largest groups are Black (14.6%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Skinner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.5% (39,710 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Skinner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (76.5%), Black (14.6%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Skinner (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 Skinner mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who skinned animals for their hides or pelts. 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 Skinner (17.36 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 have the surname Skinner?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.