Skinner surname meaning

Skinner is an English occupational surname for someone who removed animal hides for fur garments or for tanning into leather. It comes from Middle English skinner, an agent word built from skin or pelt, with the vocabulary ultimately related to Old Norse skinn. The medieval trade could cover several stages of the fur and leather economy, so “skinner” does not identify one exact workshop or material. Skynner is a useful older spelling. The catalog classifies Skinner as occupation with high confidence because the occupational sense is explicit and consistent, while leaving the particular craft specialization to local records.