2000
#2,291
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,542
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.39
Uncommon Last name
Skelton
An English occupational surname referring to a person who was thin or skeletal in appearance.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 16,519 Americans carry the last name Skelton. That puts it at #2,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.82 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 20,749 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Skelton 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Skelton with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
17K
1 in 20,749
Census rank
#2,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
14K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 14,405 bearers of the surname Skelton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.82 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Skelton, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.7%. The next largest groups are Black (5.9%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Skelton
The surname Skelton originates from the northern parts of England, particularly Yorkshire and Lancashire. It is an English locational surname derived from the Old English words 'scelan' meaning a shelter or temporary dwelling, and 'tun' meaning a farm or settlement. The name likely referred to someone who lived in a particular shelter or temporary dwelling.
Skelton is an ancient surname, with records dating back to the 12th century. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was William de Skelton, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1170. The Skelton family held lands in Yorkshire from a very early period, and the name is associated with several place names in the region, such as Skelton near York and Skelton in Cleveland.
The Skelton surname also appears in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The entry records a place called 'Scheltun' in Yorkshire, which is believed to be an early spelling of the name Skelton.
Over the centuries, the Skelton name has been spelled in various ways, including Skelton, Skeltone, Schelton, and Schelletun. Some notable individuals with the surname Skelton include John Skelton (c. 1460 - 1529), an English poet and tutor to King Henry VIII, and Philip Skelton (1707 - 1787), an English clergyman and writer.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Sir John Skelton (c. 1534 - 1598), an English soldier and poet who served as a commander in the English army during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. In the 17th century, Samuel Skelton (1592 - 1670) was a English-born Puritan minister who became one of the founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in America.
In more recent times, John Skelton (1923 - 1999) was an English comedian and actor, best known for his television comedy shows in the 1960s and 1970s. Kath Skelton (1926 - 2008) was an Australian actress and playwright, who had a successful career on stage and television.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Skelton
Among Census respondents with the surname Skelton, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.7%. The next largest groups are Black (5.9%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Skelton 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 Skelton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.7% · 12,349
- Black or African American5.9% · 843
- Two or more races4.2% · 598
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 435
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 118
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 62
Timeline
Historical Census data for Skelton
Skelton 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
#2,330
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,624
+1,082 bearers (+7.4%)
Per 100,000 5.30
Rank movement Down 39 places
2020
#2,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,405
-1,219 bearers (-7.8%)
Per 100,000 4.82
Rank movement Down 116 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,291 | 14,542 | 5.39 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,330 | 15,624 | 5.30 | +1,082 bearers (+7.4%) | Down 39 places |
| 2020 | #2,446 | 14,405 | 4.82 | -1,219 bearers (-7.8%) | Down 116 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 Skelton 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 | #2,330 | #2,446 | -5.0% |
| Count | 15,624 | 14,405 | -7.8% |
| Per 100K | 5.30 | 4.82 | -9.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Skelton bearers went from 15,624 to 14,405 (-7.8% change). The surname moved down 116 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,330 to #2,446.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Skelton
FAQ
Skelton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Skelton?
Name Census estimates that about 16,519 living Americans carry the surname Skelton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 20,749 residents.
How common is Skelton?
Skelton ranks #2,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.82 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 14,405 people with the surname Skelton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (16,519), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.82 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.82 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Skelton.
Has Skelton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Skelton went from 15,624 recorded bearers to 14,405. That is a decrease of 1,219 (-7.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,330 to #2,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Skelton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Skelton, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.7%. The next largest groups are Black (5.9%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Skelton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.7% (12,349 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Skelton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.7%), Black (5.9%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Skelton (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 Skelton mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a person who was thin or skeletal in appearance. 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 Skelton (4.82 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 people share the surname Skelton?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.