SKIDMORE
Skidmore is a surname of English and Norse provenance, with its earliest attestations in the British Isles. The name is associated with the Christian traditions of medieval England and is typified as a locational or geographical surname.
From a linguistic standpoint, the surname was originally a patronymic form derived from the Old Norse personal name Skjaldmarr, a composition of “skjald” meaning shield and “marr” meaning man or bearer. Consequently the name conveyed the meaning “shield bearer” and was employed to denote the descendants of an individual so named. Over several centuries the form underwent phonetic alteration, eventually stabilising under the spelling Skidmore.
An alternative origin exists in the medieval toponymic tradition. The surname is also recorded as Scudamore, a name that stems from a now lost village once situated in the county of Somerset, in the West Country. The place name was probably associated with a low moor or similar landscape, a hypothesis suggested by the surviving linguistic evidence. This settlement is believed to have disappeared in the 16th century, when the extensive area known as The Wetlands was drained, leading to the loss of the village that gave the name to the family.
The earliest documentary evidence of the family traces back to the 11th and 12th centuries. In the Domesday Book of 1086, a Ralph is noted as residing at Upton in Wiltshire, while a Walter de Scudamore served as lord of Upton during the reign of King Stephen from 1135 to 1154. Further medieval references include a Peter de Skidemore recorded in the Great Chartulary of Glastonbury in 1170, and an earlier instance of the name as Hugh de Scudimore in the Pipe Rolls of Herefordshire in 1167, during the reign of King Henry the First, known by his sobriquet “the Builder of Churches.” These records illustrate the surname’s use both with a patronymic and a locational connotation.
In contemporary times, individuals carrying the surname Skidmore are predominantly found within the United Kingdom and the United States, reflecting the dispersal of the family lines through migration and settlement. The name remains a link to a rich heritage that combines Anglo‑Saxon, Norse, and medieval English influences within a single remarkable surname.
Typical given names associated with the Skidmore surname
Male
- Andrew
- David
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Richard
- Robert
Female
- Alison
- Deborah
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Helen
- Jean
- Karen
- Linda
- Lisa
- Margaret
- Sarah
- Susan
- Victoria
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Skidmore in...
Braille
⠎⠅⠊⠙⠍⠕⠗⠑
Morse
...-.-..-..-----.-..
Semaphore
There are approximately 4,374 people named Skidmore in the UK. That makes it roughly the 2,146th most common surname in Britain. Around 67 in a million people in Britain are named Skidmore.
Surname type: Location or geographical feature
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Skidmore
- Chris Skidmore - Politician
- Alan Skidmore - Saxophonist
- Jeffrey Skidmore - Conductor and musicologist
- Jimmy Skidmore - Musician (1916 to 1998)
- Chris Skidmore -
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.