Skurnick
A surname likely of Slavic origin derived from an occupational word related to shoe or leather craftsmanship.
According to the 2010 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 103 Americans carry the last name Skurnick. That puts it at #160,975 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,327,712 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Skurnick 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.
Skurnick appeared in the 2010 Census surname file but was not included in the published 2020 file. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames with at least 100 recorded bearers, so this usually means the name fell below that threshold.
Bearers in the US
103
1 in 3,327,712
Census rank
#160,975
2010 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
100
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 100 bearers of the surname Skurnick in its 2010 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 160975th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Skurnick, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Skurnick
The surname SKURNICK is of Russian origin, emerging in the late 18th century. It is believed to have originated from the Russian word "skurnyi," meaning "sad" or "sorrowful." This suggests the name may have initially been a descriptive nickname given to an individual with a melancholic or somber demeanor.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the SKURNICK surname can be found in the imperial archives of Saint Petersburg, where a merchant named Fyodor SKURNICK is listed as having traded in furs and textiles around 1795. This indicates the name had already been established in Russia by the late 18th century.
In the early 19th century, the SKURNICK name appears in several parish records from the Smolensk region of western Russia. A notable example is Ivan SKURNICK, born in 1812, who served as a village elder and is mentioned in local chronicles for his role in organizing relief efforts during a severe famine in 1833.
As the Russian Empire expanded eastward, the SKURNICK surname spread to areas like Siberia and the Caucasus region. One prominent figure was Grigory SKURNICK (1845-1917), a successful merchant and landowner from Irkutsk who was known for his philanthropic contributions to the city's development.
In the late 19th century, the SKURNICK name also began appearing in historical records from other Slavic countries, likely due to migration and intermarriage. For instance, a Czech composer named Karel SKURNICK (1862-1923) achieved some renown for his operas and symphonic works inspired by Slavic folklore.
As the 20th century dawned, the SKURNICK surname continued to disperse across Eastern Europe and beyond. One notable figure was Andrei SKURNICK (1901-1976), a Ukrainian-born writer and journalist who emigrated to the United States in the 1920s and became a prominent voice in the Russian diaspora community.
Throughout its history, the SKURNICK name has been associated with diverse professions and backgrounds, from merchants and landowners to artists and intellectuals. While its origins lie in the Russian heartland, the surname has since spread to various parts of the world, carried by generations of SKURNICK families seeking new opportunities and horizons.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Skurnick
Among Census respondents with the surname Skurnick, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Skurnick bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2010 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 Skurnick surname at the time of the 2010 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.0%
- Two or more races5.0%
- Unknown or suppressed3.0%
FAQ
Skurnick surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Skurnick?
Name Census estimates that about 103 living Americans carry the surname Skurnick. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,327,712 residents.
How common is Skurnick?
Skurnick ranks #160,975 in the 2010 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 2010 Census file counted 100 people with the surname Skurnick. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (103), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Skurnick.
Has Skurnick become more or less common over time?
Skurnick appears here with 2010 Census data. When additional surname-file years are available for this name, Name Census uses them to show longer-term movement in rank and bearer count.
What does the Census say about the background of Skurnick?
Among Census respondents with the surname Skurnick, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%). These figures come from the 2010 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 Skurnick in the 2010 Census, accounting for 92.0%.
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Skurnick appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2010 file are White (92.0%), Two or More Races (5.0%).
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Not necessarily. Skurnick appears here with 2010 Census data, while the latest surname file loaded on Name Census is 2020. When a surname drops below the Census publication threshold, older rows can still be kept for historical reference even if the name no longer appears in the newest file.
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 Skurnick mean?
A surname likely of Slavic origin derived from an occupational word related to shoe or leather craftsmanship. 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 2010 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 Skurnick (0.03 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 Skurnick?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.