2000
#20,578
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,197
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.44
Rare Last name
Skolnick
A surname with Slavic origins meaning someone from a particular town or village.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,313 Americans carry the last name Skolnick. That puts it at #22,971 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.38 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 261,047 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Skolnick 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
1.3K
1 in 261,047
Census rank
#22,971
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,145 bearers of the surname Skolnick in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.38 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 22971st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Skolnick, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Skolnick
The surname SKOLNICK is of Polish origin, derived from the Polish word "skolnik" which means "judge" or "arbiter". The name can be traced back to the 16th century in the region of modern-day Poland.
The earliest recorded instance of the SKOLNICK surname appears in the parish records of the town of Krakow in 1572, where a certain Jan Skolnick was listed as a local magistrate. This suggests that the name was initially associated with individuals who held judicial or legal positions in their communities.
In the 17th century, variations of the spelling such as "Skolnicki" and "Skolniczek" can be found in historical documents from the regions of Silesia and Galicia, which were then part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
One notable figure bearing the SKOLNICK name was Jakub Skolnicki (1630-1695), a renowned Polish lawyer and legal scholar who served as a judge in the Crown Tribunal of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
As the Polish diaspora spread across Europe and later to the Americas, the SKOLNICK surname traveled with them. In the late 19th century, records show SKOLNICK families settling in cities like New York and Chicago, where they often Anglicized the spelling to "SKOLNICK".
Another prominent individual with this surname was Joseph Skolnick (1892-1976), a Polish-American businessman and philanthropist who founded the successful Skolnick Furniture Company in Chicago.
In the 20th century, the SKOLNICK name gained further recognition with figures like Arnold Skolnick (1923-1988), an American lawyer and civil rights activist who played a pivotal role in the desegregation of public schools in the United States.
Other notable individuals with the SKOLNICK surname include Sheldon Skolnick (1947-present), an American psychologist and author, and Rachel Skolnick (1975-present), an American actress and writer.
While the SKOLNICK name has its roots in Poland and was initially associated with the legal profession, it has since spread across the globe and encompassed individuals from various walks of life.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Skolnick
Among Census respondents with the surname Skolnick, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Skolnick 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 Skolnick surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.5% · 1,036
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 54
- Two or more races2.4% · 28
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 7
- Black or African American0.3% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Skolnick
Skolnick 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
#21,686
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,201
+4 bearers (+0.3%)
Per 100,000 0.41
Rank movement Down 1,108 places
2020
#22,971
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,145
-56 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 0.38
Rank movement Down 1,285 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #20,578 | 1,197 | 0.44 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #21,686 | 1,201 | 0.41 | +4 bearers (+0.3%) | Down 1,108 places |
| 2020 | #22,971 | 1,145 | 0.38 | -56 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 1,285 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 Skolnick 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 | #21,686 | #22,971 | -5.9% |
| Count | 1,201 | 1,145 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.41 | 0.38 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Skolnick bearers went from 1,201 to 1,145 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 1,285 positions in the national ranking, going from #21,686 to #22,971.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Skolnick
FAQ
Skolnick surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Skolnick?
Name Census estimates that about 1,313 living Americans carry the surname Skolnick. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 261,047 residents.
How common is Skolnick?
Skolnick ranks #22,971 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.38 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 1,145 people with the surname Skolnick. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,313), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.38 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.38 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 Skolnick.
Has Skolnick become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Skolnick went from 1,201 recorded bearers to 1,145. That is a decrease of 56 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #21,686 to #22,971.
What does the Census say about the background of Skolnick?
Among Census respondents with the surname Skolnick, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Skolnick in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.5% (1,036 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Skolnick appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.5%), Hispanic (4.7%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Skolnick (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 Skolnick mean?
A surname with Slavic origins meaning someone from a particular town or village. 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 Skolnick (0.38 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 Americans have the surname Skolnick?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.