# Skelton (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/skelton/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A habitational surname from Old English from the place names.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 15,624 |
| US rank (2010) | 2,330 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 19,761 people |
| Change since 2000 | +7.4% (14,542 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Old English scylfe (“deck, shelf”) + tun (“town”). Doublet of Shelton. The alteration of /ʃ/ to /sk/ is down to Old Norse influence.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Skelton in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 88% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 6.2% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.1% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.6% |
| Two or more races | 2.0% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Skelton in the United States, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

## People named Skelton

- Red Skelton, American comedian (1913–1997)
- Sophie Skelton, British actress
- Bob Skelton, American swimmer (1903–1977)
- Nick Skelton, British equestrian
- Ike Skelton, American politician (1931-2013)
- Will Skelton, Australian rugby union player

## Similar surnames

Shelton, Sheldon, Slayton, Slaton, Seldon, Slatton, Saldana, Sultana, Sultan, Scholten, Saladino, Sletten.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.