The baby name Skipper feels retro and sparky, and fits with 21st century name trends nicely.
Thanks to Lo for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
WHAT DOES THE NAME SKIPPER MEAN?
The baby name Skipper started out as a title, not a given name.
It comes from the Dutch word schipper or scipper, referring to a sea captain of a small vessel.
That means it’s related to ship, as in boat. Over the years, it would’ve been scip, schip, skip, skepp, skif, or something similar in other European languages with Germanic roots.
German surname Schiff is also derived from ship.
So a skipper was a ship captain, at a time when that was a familiar job.
In some sports, the term eventually applied to a team’s captain, too.
SKIPPER AS A SURNAME
If the word skipper was familiar as an occupation, then it’s no surprise that it filtered into use as a surname, too.
Worth noting: not every skipper earned a living on the sea. In Middle English, a skeppe was a basket. A skipper might’ve been a basket maker – spending their days on land.
Some suggest it might’ve been an occupational name for an acrobat, which seems plausible – though less likely. (Presumably, many more people wove baskets or sailed ships that earned a living as tumblers.)
SKIP AS A NICKNAME
Skip also evolved as a nickname.
Men used it a little bit like Sonny or Bud. The Skips of the world have answered to dozens of formal names – Frank and Bruce and Paul and Stanley.
In some cases, it’s used for juniors. Others suggest Skip started out as a nickname for boys named after their grandfathers – because the family name “skipped” a generation.
In that last sense, Skip is a verb. That’s probably from an Old Norse word meaning to leap or jump, with a light step. By the 1300s, one might “skip” a part when telling a story. And we were skipping stones by the 17th century.
BARBIE and GILLIGAN
What we do know: 1964 was a good year for the name Skipper.
Television gave us Gilligan’s Island. The sitcom featured a small group of passengers who set sail from Hawaii on the S.S. Minnow for a three-hour tour. But a storm swept them off course, shipwrecking them on a tiny dessert isle. The Skipper – real name Jonas Grumby – piloted the ship, along with First Mate Gilligan. Actor Alan Hale played the part. Everyone called him Skipper, and he wore his captain’s hat throughout the series.
1964 is also the year the world met a doll called Skipper. Mattel introduced her as Barbie’s younger sister. Just like Barbie, she’s changed quite a bit over the years. Her story has expanded over the years. Present-generation Skipper is tech savvy, with a streak of purple hair. Full name: Skipper Madison Roberts. (Barbie is Barbara Millicent Roberts.)
The doll marks the first moment Skipper became more of a girl’s name than a boy’s name. Or maybe even a given name at all.
MADAGASCAR
The world met the animals of Madagascar in 2005.
While they were initially minor characters, a team of four penguins became fan favorites, even earnings their own animated spin-off series.
The penguins’ names? Private, Kowalski, Rico, and Skipper – the leader of the quartet. Initially, Skipper does most of the talking. Tom McGrath voices him; McGrath is also the co-author and director of the Madagascar movies.
HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME SKIPPER?
A Barbie doll, a boss penguin, a nickname … none of this really makes the baby name Skipper particularly promising.
And yet, Skipper debuted in the US popularity data as a boy’s given name way back in 1937, with six births. It peaked in 1962 with 33 boys receiving the name.
In 2022, the baby name Skipper debuted in the girls’ data, with six girls receiving the name. That’s a year before Barbie became a blockbuster hit in 2023.
The name has not appeared in the data for girls or boys since then.
ONE TO WATCH
But could the baby name Skipper be ready for more attention?
There’s a bright energy about this name. After all, to skip stones is a playful, carefree image. So is skipping down the path. It’s childlike and energetic.
The nautical vibes help, too. It’s potentially just coastal enough.
It also fits with girls’ names ending with R: Piper, Saylor, Skylar, Harper.
While the baby name Skipper might be among the rarest of possibilities, it could also wear well for a daughter born now.
What do you think of the baby name Skipper?
