Explore the Family Name Skehan

The meaning of Skehan

Irish: shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Sceacháin or Ó Sceacháin ‘son (or descendant) of Sceachán’, a personal name probably based on a diminutive of sceach ‘briar, thorn bush’. The Gaelic name has sometimes been ‘translated’ as Thornton.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Skehan in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Skehan has seen a rise in popularity from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, Skehan ranked 38,141st in the United States and was held by a total of 546 individuals or approximately 0.2 per 100,000 people. By 2010, the rank had climbed to 36,477th, representing a 4.36% increase, while the count rose by 12.27% to 613 individuals, now comprising around 0.21 per 100,000 people.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#38,141	#36,477	4.36%
Count	546	613	12.27%
Proportion per 100k	0.2	0.21	5%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Skehan

As for ethnic identity associated with the surname Skehan, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals some changes between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, the majority of those bearing this surname, 96.52%, identified as White, followed by Black at 1.28%, and Hispanic at 0.92%. However, by 2010 there were shifts within these percentages. The proportion identifying as White dropped slightly to 95.27%, whereas the percentage of Black decreased more dramatically by 23.44%. Interesting developments were observed in the Asian/Pacific Islander and Two or More Races categories, which had no representation in 2000 but emerged in 2010 with 1.14% and 2.12% respectively. The category American Indian and Alaskan Native had no representation in either year.

	2000	2010	Change
White	96.52%	95.27%	-1.3%
Two or More Races	0%	2.12%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	1.14%	0%
Black	1.28%	0.98%	-23.44%
Hispanic	0.92%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%