Given name
Skip
“the master of a ship”
Skip is a variant of Skipper. One English interpretation is “the master of a ship.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Skip is a variant of Skipper. One English interpretation is “the master of a ship.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Skip is a variant of Skipper. A possible origin is Scandinavian, although the derivation remains uncertain.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1930. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Skip through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 2,116
- 2,116 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1960
- 105 babies
- 2025
- 13
- #6,747 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +51%
- Rising fast
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 13 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 6,747 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 51.3% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 105 in 1960. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,047 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Skip’s family of names
Skip is a short form of Skipper. Skip has a related form in Skipper.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
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 Skip
- Skip JamesAmerican Delta blues singer, guitarist, pianist and songwriter (1902–1969)
- Skip MarleyJamaican singer and songwriterborn 1996
- Skip WoodsScreenwriter, film director, film producer (born 1967)
- Skip BattinAmerican musician (1934-2003)
- Skip HomeierAmerican actor (1930-2017)
- Skip LievsayAmerican sound editor and sound designerborn 2000
- Skip O'BrienAmerican actor (1950-2011)
- Skip WilliamsAmerican game designerborn 1955
- Skip SchumakerAmerican baseball player (born 1980)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Skip, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Chip
“one who bears Christ inside”
>99% boys
Kipp
“from the small pointed hill”
>99% boys
Cris
“follower of Christ” · “one who bears Christ inside”
97% boys · 3% girls
Kemp
“the champion”
>99% boys
Sal
“princess; lady” · “a savior”
>99% boys
Ken
“born of fire” · “handsome, fair one”
>99% boys
Tim
“one who honors God” · “a respected man”
>99% boys
Arnie
“resembling an eagle” · “the eagle ruler”
>99% boys