Skinner Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Skinner last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Skinner last name
Meaning of the Skinner last name: skinner of hides and furs. Skinner is an English surname for a person who prepared animal skins for leather or furs, from a word that came from Old Norse skinn. The trade mattered in medieval towns, and the last name is common across England and in Scotland. A curious detail: the Skinners' Company of London received its first royal charter in 1327 and still exists today.
Arms associated with the Skinner name
In English heraldry a coat of arms belonged to one person at a time, so different Skinner lines used their own versions, each set out in a blazon, the formal heraldic description.
Get your full Skinner family history
This is only a glimpse of the Skinner story. The full Skinner history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Skinner coat of arms. Get the full Skinner report.
Skinner name FAQ
What does the Skinner name mean?
Skinner of hides and furs. Common variants include Skynner, Skiner, Skinnar.
Where does the Skinner surname come from?
It originates in England, and is also found in the United States, Scotland and Australia.
Is there a Skinner coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Skinner coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Sources: Reaney & Wilson, Dictionary of English Surnames; George F. Black, The Surnames of Scotland (New York Public Library, 1946); Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford).