Show ContentsSkellern History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Skellern family

The surname Skellern 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 Skellern family

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

Skellern 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 Skellern 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 Skellern Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ireland Migration of the Skellern family to Ireland

Some of the Skellern 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.

Migration of the Skellern family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Hugh Skillin settled in New York in 1833; Isaac and wife Nancy settled in Texas in 1835; Elizabeth Skellen and husband settled in Maryland in 1668.


Contemporary Notables of the name Skellern (post 1700) +

  • Peter Skellern (1947-2017), English singer-songwriter and pianist, born in Bury, Lancashire, co-founder of the band Oasis, best known for his debut album "You're a Lady" in 1972
  • Victor G. Skellern (1909-1966), British ceramics designer and stained glass producer who was the art director at Wedgwood from 1934 to 1965
  • David Skellern (b. 1951), Australian electronic engineer and computer scientist responsible for the first chip-set implementation of the IEEE 802.11a wireless networking standard
  • Anna Skellern (b. 1985), Australian actress from Sydney, Australia, best known as the first female member of The Chaser's television programme CNNNN
  • Eileen Skellern FRCN (1923-1980), English psychiatric nurse who was involved in pioneering psychosocial and psychotherapeutic methods for treating patients


  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)


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