Show ContentsSkilling History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Skilling family

The surname Skilling was first found in the West Riding of Yorkshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor of Skeleron in Rimington. 1

Rimington, a large village in the West Riding was held at the time of the taking of the Domesday Book in 1086 by William, Lord Percy, perhaps the most powerful Norman Baron of the Northland. At that time, the village was known as Renitone, but by 1182, it was known as Rimingtona. 2 Conjecturally, the Skelhorns are descended from either a son, nephew or other close relative of this Baron.

Early rolls proved the wide use of different spellings at the time: John Scalehome was listed in 1467 and Peter Skelhorne was later listed in 1574. 1

Early History of the Skilling family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Skilling research. Another 105 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1459, 1467, 1574, 1845 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Skilling History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Skilling Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Skelhorn, Skellern, Skellorn, Skillern, Skillen, Skillan, Skilland, Skellon, Skilling, Skillim and many more.

Early Notables of the Skilling family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Skellorn of Yorkshire. According to legend, William Skelhorn was a blacksmith of Mucklestone, Staffordshire who assisted in the escape of Queen Margaret of Anjou from the Battle...
Another 35 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Skilling Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ireland Migration of the Skilling family to Ireland

Some of the Skilling family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 94 words (7 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Skilling migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Skilling Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Ann Skilling, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1775 3

New Zealand Skilling migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Skilling Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Samuel Skilling, (b. 1840), aged 20, British farm labourer travelling from Bristol aboard the ship "Matoaka" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 2nd December 1860 4
  • Mr. James Skilling, (b. 1812), aged 50, Irish blacksmith from County Down travelling from London aboard the ship "Zealandia" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 23rd May 1862 5
  • Mrs. Ann Skilling, (b. 1817), aged 45, Irish settler from County Down travelling from London aboard the ship "Zealandia" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 23rd May 1862 5
  • Miss Sarah Skilling, (b. 1837), aged 25, Irish needle womand and domestic servant from County Down travelling from London aboard the ship "Zealandia" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 23rd May 1862 5
  • Mr. Robert Skilling, (b. 1852), aged 10, Irish settler from County Down travelling from London aboard the ship "Zealandia" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 23rd May 1862 5
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Skilling (post 1700) +

  • Jeffrey Keith Skilling (b. 1953), American former CEO of Enron Corporation, indicted on 35 counts of fraud and insider trading
  • Daniel Skilling, American Democratic Party politician, Secretary of New York Democratic Party, 1937 6
  • Tom Skilling, American popular television meteorologist in Chicago, Illinois
  • Mr. Robert Forbes Skilling M.B.E., British recipient of the Member of the Order of the British Empire on 29th December 2018 for services to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office 7

HMS Royal Oak
  • Matthew Skilling, British Boy 1st Class with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he survived the sinking 8


  1. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  2. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  3. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  4. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  5. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  6. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 27) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  7. "Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62507, 28 December 2018 | London Gazette, The Gazette, Dec. 2018, www.thegazette.co.uk/honours-lists
  8. Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html


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