Skylar
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Meaning
from the Dutch surname Schuyler, meaning "scholar", with a spelling that follows its English pronunciation
The story
Skylar began, improbably, as Dutch: the surname Schuyler, meaning scholar, carried to New York by colonial families whose name still marks streets and towns across the state. Americans eventually respelled it by ear, and Skylar and Skyler emerged with a happy accident built in, the whole open sky sitting right there in the first syllable. That sound, more than the scholarly root, is surely what modern parents hear. The name edged into US records in the 1960s, grew through the 1980s, then took off properly in the 1990s and has climbed almost without pause since; the 2020s match its highest mark yet. Unisex at root, it now leans mostly to girls. Few names manage this particular trick: three centuries of American history in the background, and a fresh, weightless sound out front.
How popular is Skylar around the world?
In the United States, 17,287 babies were named Skylar between 2020 and 2025.
Skylar is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, Scotland, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, England and Wales and Austria.
United States
1 in 1,300
In the United States, 17,287 babies were named Skylar between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Skylar peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure. Skylar went to 5,653 US babies in 2015 and 1,931 in 2025, 34% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 2,6002017
In South Australia, 7 girls were registered as Skylar in 2017.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Scotland
1 in 2,700
In Scotland, 17 girls named Skylar were registered in 2024, the 215th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Canada
1 in 2,700
In Canada, 119 girls named Skylar were born in 2024, the 240th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
New Zealand
1 in 2,900
In New Zealand, 20 girls named Skylar were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Ireland
1 in 3,400
In Ireland, 16 girls named Skylar were born in 2025, the 266th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
England and Wales
1 in 4,100
In England and Wales, 139 girls named Skylar were born in 2025, the 312th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Austria
1 in 38,000
In Austria, 2 girls named Skylar were born in 2025, ranked 1,305th among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Mexico City City
last on record 2020
Skylar is not on the 2022 record for Mexico City, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Poland
last on record 2022
Skylar is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Not on the record in Spain, Argentina and Puerto Rico: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Skylar
Most people given the name Skylar in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like Skylar · Names that go with Skylar · Middle names for Skylar · Climbers and fallers
The Skylar deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Skylar truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Skylar fits with your family’s names and surname.
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