Given name & surname · also Scottish
Erskine
“from the high cliff”
Erskine is used as a given name and a surname. One interpretation is “from the high cliff.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One interpretation is “from the high cliff.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Scottish.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1898. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Erskine through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,996
- 1,996 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1947
- 48 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2011. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 48 in 1947. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 929 as a first name in 2020; 5,147 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Erskine’s family of names
Erskine has a feminine form in Erskina. Erskine has a related form in Erskin. Erskine has a related form in Erskein.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 7
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Erskine
- Erskine CaldwellAmerican novelist, short story writer, travel writer, essayist (1903–1987)
- Erskine Hamilton Childers4th President of Ireland (1905-1974)
- Erskine SanfordAmerican actor1885–1969
- Erskine BowlesAmerican politician and businessmanborn 1945
- Erskine HawkinsAmerican trumpeter and big band leader from Birmingham, Alabama (1914-1993)
- Erskine TateAmerican musician (1895–1978)
- Erskine MayBritish constitutional theorist (1815–1886)
- Erskine NicolBritish artist (1825-1904)
- Erskine ButterfieldAmerican musician (1913–1961)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Erskine, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Errol
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Avon
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Artis
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Lewie
Lewie is a masculine given name.
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Mcclellan
“son of the servant of Faolán”
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Derry
“from the oak grove” · “from the grove of oak trees”
92% boys · 8% girls
Stennis
“from the place of the standing stones”
>99% boys
McArthur
“the son of Arthur”
>99% boys