How common is the surname Skelton?

15,624 people in the United States had the surname Skelton in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 19,761 Americans. It ranked 2,330th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Skelton?

Red Skelton, American comedian (1913–1997), followed by Sophie Skelton.

Where is the surname Skelton most common?

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

Is the surname Skelton getting more or less common?

More common. 14,542 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 15,624 in 2010, up 7.4%.

The surname Skelton

An English place surname, carried by 15,624 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex S435

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Skelton is more common than 98.6% of them.

Origin

English origin

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

Skelton is a place surname: taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.

One of 1,446 English surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 15,624 people named Skelton in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 19,761 Americans. That is up 7.4% since 2000, when the Census counted 14,542.

#2,330

rank among US surnames

15,624

people in 2010

5.3

per 100,000 Americans

+7.4%

change since 2000 (was #2,291)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#2,321	Hillman	15,738	19,618
#2,322	Cornett	15,733	19,624
#2,323	Burr	15,703	19,662
#2,324	Luu	15,702	19,663
#2,325	Mosher	15,672	19,700
#2,326	Coley	15,671	19,702
#2,327	Hayward	15,665	19,709

Who is named Skelton

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

88% of people named Skelton identified as white (not Hispanic), 6.2% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.1% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

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

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Skeltons

6 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Red Skelton
American comedian (1913–1997)
Sophie Skelton
British actress, born 1994
Bob Skelton
American swimmer (1903–1977)
Nick Skelton
British equestrian, born 1957
Ike Skelton
American politician (1931-2013)
Will Skelton
Australian rugby union player, born 1992

Notable Skeltons come mostly from the United States (3), the United Kingdom (2) and New Zealand (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Skelton

Skelton has the Soundex code S435, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code S435.

Other English surnames

All 1,446 English surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Skelton come from?: From Old English scylfe (“deck, shelf”) + tun (“town”). Doublet of Shelton. The alteration of /ʃ/ to /sk/ is down to Old Norse influence.
How common is the surname Skelton?: 15,624 people in the United States had the surname Skelton in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 19,761 Americans. It ranked 2,330th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Skelton?: In the 2010 Census, 88% of people named Skelton identified as white (not Hispanic), and 6.2% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Skelton?: Red Skelton, American comedian (1913–1997), followed by Sophie Skelton.
Where is the surname Skelton most common?: Wikidata records people named Skelton in the United States, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
What type of surname is Skelton?: Skelton is a place surname, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.
Is the surname Skelton getting more or less common?: More common. 14,542 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 15,624 in 2010, up 7.4%.