How common is the surname Skinner?

54,046 people in the United States had the surname Skinner in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 5,713 Americans. It ranked 627th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Skinner?

B.F. Skinner, American behaviorist (1904–1990), followed by Catherine Skinner.

Where is the surname Skinner most common?

Wikidata records people named Skinner in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.

How do you pronounce Skinner?

Skinner is /ˈskɪnɚ/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Skinner getting more or less common?

More common. 52,490 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 54,046 in 2010, up 3.0%.

The surname Skinner

A Danish occupational surname, carried by 54,046 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈskɪnɚ/ 2 syllables Soundex S560

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Skinner is more common than 99.6% of them.

Origin

Danish origin

The family surname is occupational in origin, meaning "one who prepares skins". Before becoming used as a surname the word skinner was commonly used to identify someone who treated animal skins. Alternatively, it may be borrowed from Danish and meaning "Keeper of Robes" or "skins then worn" which also hints at the historical connection to tradespeople who were involved with furs and hides.

Skinner is an occupational surname: named after the work an ancestor did.

One of 50 Danish surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 54,046 people named Skinner in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 5,713 Americans. That is up 3.0% since 2000, when the Census counted 52,490.

#627

rank among US surnames

54,046

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+3%

change since 2000 (was #575)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#618	Anthony	55,114	5,602
#619	Pittman	55,021	5,611
#620	Huynh	54,996	5,614
#621	Randall	54,764	5,638
#622	Singleton	54,621	5,653
#623	Kirk	54,394	5,676
#624	Combs	54,257	5,690

Who is named Skinner

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

79% of people named Skinner identified as white (not Hispanic), 15% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 79%
Black (not Hispanic) 15%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.5%
Two or more races 2.0%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.7%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Skinners

17 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

B.F. Skinner
American behaviorist (1904–1990)
Catherine Skinner
Australian sport shooter, born 1990
MyKayla Skinner
American artistic gymnast, born 1996
Hugh Skinner
British actor, born 1985
Kevin Skinner
American musician, born 1974
Avery Skinner
American volleyball player, born 1999
Cornelia Otis Skinner
American actress and author (1899–1979)
Brian Skinner
American basketball player (born 1976)
Frank Skinner
American film composer and arranger (1897–1968)
Otis Skinner
American actor (1858-1942)
George Herbert Skinner
British businessman, 1872–1931
Emily Skinner
American actress (born 2002)

Notable Skinners come mostly from the United States (14), the United Kingdom (2) and Australia (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Skinner

Skinner has the Soundex code S560, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code S560.

Other Danish surnames

All 50 Danish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Skinner come from?: The family surname is occupational in origin, meaning "one who prepares skins". Before becoming used as a surname the word skinner was commonly used to identify someone who treated animal skins. Alternatively, it may be borrowed from Danish and meaning "Keeper of Robes" or "skins then worn" which…
How common is the surname Skinner?: 54,046 people in the United States had the surname Skinner in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 5,713 Americans. It ranked 627th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Skinner?: In the 2010 Census, 79% of people named Skinner identified as white (not Hispanic), and 15% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Skinner?: B.F. Skinner, American behaviorist (1904–1990), followed by Catherine Skinner.
Where is the surname Skinner most common?: Wikidata records people named Skinner in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.
How do you pronounce Skinner?: Skinner is /ˈskɪnɚ/, 2 syllables.
What type of surname is Skinner?: Skinner is an occupational surname, named after the work an ancestor did.
Is the surname Skinner getting more or less common?: More common. 52,490 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 54,046 in 2010, up 3.0%.