2000
#67,725
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 272
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.10
Very Rare Last name
Skeie
A locational surname originating from the Norwegian farm name Skeie.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 325 Americans carry the last name Skeie. That puts it at #73,776 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.09 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,054,629 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Skeie 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.
Bearers in the US
325
1 in 1,054,629
Census rank
#73,776
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
283
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 283 bearers of the surname Skeie in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.09 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 73776th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Skeie, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Skeie
The surname SKEIE is of Norwegian origin, believed to have emerged in the late medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old Norse word "skeið," which referred to a flat or level ground, often a meadow or clearing in a wooded area. This suggests that the name may have initially been used as a topographic descriptor for people living in such areas.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian diplomatic documents. In a charter dated 1389, a man named Haukr á Skeið is mentioned, which translates to "Hawk of Skeið." This indicates that the name was already in use as a surname or byname by the late 14th century.
The SKEIE surname is closely associated with the region of Voss, located in the western part of Norway. It is believed that many of the earliest bearers of the name originated from this area, which was known for its extensive meadows and fertile valleys. The name may have initially been used to distinguish families or individuals from specific farmsteads or clearings in the Voss region.
In the 16th century, a notable figure with the surname SKEIE was Ivar Skeidsdalen, a farmer and landowner who lived in the village of Skeidsdalen, near Voss. Records from this time period also mention a man named Arne Skeie, who was involved in a legal dispute over land ownership in the Voss area.
During the 17th century, the name appears in various church records and historical documents from the Voss region. One example is Nils Skeie, who was born in 1631 and served as a church warden in the parish of Vossevangen.
In the 19th century, a prominent bearer of the SKEIE surname was Mads Larsen Skeie, a farmer and politician who served as a member of the Norwegian Storting (parliament) from 1857 to 1859. He was born in 1808 and hailed from the Voss area.
Another notable figure with this surname was Torjus Skeie, a Norwegian-American author and journalist who was born in 1848 in the village of Skeie, near Voss. He immigrated to the United States in the late 19th century and became a prolific writer, publishing several books and articles about Norwegian culture and history.
While the SKEIE surname has its roots in Norway, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora communities. However, its origins can be traced back to the medieval period and the topographic features of the Voss region, where it was likely first used as a descriptive surname for those residing in flat or level meadows and clearings.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Skeie
Among Census respondents with the surname Skeie, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Skeie bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 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 Skeie surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.6% · 265
- Two or more races2.5% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Skeie
Skeie appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#67,318
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 293
+21 bearers (+7.7%)
Per 100,000 0.10
Rank movement Up 407 places
2020
#73,776
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 283
-10 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.09
Rank movement Down 6,458 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #67,725 | 272 | 0.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #67,318 | 293 | 0.10 | +21 bearers (+7.7%) | Up 407 places |
| 2020 | #73,776 | 283 | 0.09 | -10 bearers (-3.4%) | Down 6,458 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Skeie surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #67,318 | #73,776 | -9.6% |
| Count | 293 | 283 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.10 | 0.09 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Skeie bearers went from 293 to 283 (-3.4% change). The surname moved down 6,458 positions in the national ranking, going from #67,318 to #73,776.
FAQ
Skeie surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Skeie?
Name Census estimates that about 325 living Americans carry the surname Skeie. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,054,629 residents.
How common is Skeie?
Skeie ranks #73,776 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.09 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 2020 Census file counted 283 people with the surname Skeie. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (325), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.09 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.09 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 Skeie.
Has Skeie become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Skeie went from 293 recorded bearers to 283. That is a decrease of 10 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #67,318 to #73,776.
What does the Census say about the background of Skeie?
Among Census respondents with the surname Skeie, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.8%). These figures come from the 2020 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 Skeie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.6% (265 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Skeie appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.6%), Two or More Races (2.5%), Hispanic (1.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Skeie (2000, 2010, 2020).
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 Skeie mean?
A locational surname originating from the Norwegian farm name Skeie. 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 2020 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 Skeie (0.09 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 common is the surname Skeie?
You can see how many Americans have the surname Skeie on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.