Find out how popular the last name Skiver is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Skiver.

Skiver, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Skiver surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Skiver in America

Skiver is the 29403rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Skiver surname appeared 804 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Skiver.

We can also compare 2010 data for Skiver to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Skiver

The surname Skiver has its origins in Norway, dating back to the 9th century AD. It is derived from the Old Norse word "skivari," which means "one who flayed skins or hides." This occupation was essential in Viking communities, where animal hides were a crucial resource for clothing, shelter, and other daily necessities.

In the early Middle Ages, the name Skiver was primarily found in the coastal regions of Norway, particularly in the areas around Bergen and Trondheim. These areas had thriving fishing and trading communities, where the skill of working with animal hides was highly valued.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Skiver can be found in the Landnámabók, a medieval Icelandic manuscript that chronicles the settlement of Iceland in the 9th and 10th centuries. The text mentions a Norwegian settler named Skiver Oddrson, who arrived in Iceland around 930 AD.

By the 11th century, the name had spread to other parts of Scandinavia, including Denmark and Sweden. In the Danish census records of 1085, a man named Skiver Thorvaldsson is listed as a resident of the town of Ribe.

A notable figure bearing the Skiver surname was Skiver Magnusson (c. 1150-1225), a wealthy merchant and landowner from Bergen, Norway. He was known for his extensive trading networks across the North Sea and his involvement in the city's governance.

Another prominent individual was Skiver Olafsson (c. 1220-1290), a Norwegian chieftain and warrior who participated in the Norwegian campaigns against the Scots and the Irish in the 13th century.

In the 14th century, the name Skiver appeared in the records of the Hanseatic League, a powerful commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and towns in Northern Europe. Skiver Eriksson (c. 1310-1375) was a prominent member of the Bergen Kontor, the League's trading outpost in Norway.

As the centuries passed, the Skiver surname spread beyond Scandinavia, with individuals bearing the name found in various parts of Europe and eventually in the Americas and other parts of the world. Skiver Jönsson (1620-1688) was a Swedish soldier who fought in the Thirty Years' War, while Skiver Olsen (1795-1872) was a Norwegian-American pioneer who settled in Wisconsin in the mid-19th century.

Throughout its history, the surname Skiver has maintained a connection to its occupational roots, reminding us of the important role that those who worked with animal hides played in the development of communities across the Norse lands and beyond.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Skiver

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Skiver.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Skiver was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Skiver has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Skiver was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Skiver, please contact us.

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