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

Skolnick, 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 Skolnick surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Skolnick in America

Skolnick is the 21686th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Skolnick surname appeared 1,201 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 Skolnick.

We can also compare 2010 data for Skolnick 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 Skolnick

The surname SKOLNICK is of Polish origin, derived from the Polish word "skolnik" which means "judge" or "arbiter". The name can be traced back to the 16th century in the region of modern-day Poland.

The earliest recorded instance of the SKOLNICK surname appears in the parish records of the town of Krakow in 1572, where a certain Jan Skolnick was listed as a local magistrate. This suggests that the name was initially associated with individuals who held judicial or legal positions in their communities.

In the 17th century, variations of the spelling such as "Skolnicki" and "Skolniczek" can be found in historical documents from the regions of Silesia and Galicia, which were then part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

One notable figure bearing the SKOLNICK name was Jakub Skolnicki (1630-1695), a renowned Polish lawyer and legal scholar who served as a judge in the Crown Tribunal of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

As the Polish diaspora spread across Europe and later to the Americas, the SKOLNICK surname traveled with them. In the late 19th century, records show SKOLNICK families settling in cities like New York and Chicago, where they often Anglicized the spelling to "SKOLNICK".

Another prominent individual with this surname was Joseph Skolnick (1892-1976), a Polish-American businessman and philanthropist who founded the successful Skolnick Furniture Company in Chicago.

In the 20th century, the SKOLNICK name gained further recognition with figures like Arnold Skolnick (1923-1988), an American lawyer and civil rights activist who played a pivotal role in the desegregation of public schools in the United States.

Other notable individuals with the SKOLNICK surname include Sheldon Skolnick (1947-present), an American psychologist and author, and Rachel Skolnick (1975-present), an American actress and writer.

While the SKOLNICK name has its roots in Poland and was initially associated with the legal profession, it has since spread across the globe and encompassed individuals from various walks of life.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Skolnick

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

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 Skolnick 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 Skolnick 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 Skolnick was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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