unisex name
Skylar
SKY-lər
- Origin Dutch
- Gender Unisex
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 115,041
the United States
#167
2025 births
Skylar is a name of Dutch origin meaning "scholar." It comes from the surname Schuyler, borne by a prominent New York family — and the sky association that drives its modern use is a coincidence of spelling.
- Skylar is a name of Dutch origin.
- Peaked in 2015, when 5,653 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 1,717 babies in the United States is given this name.
- Skylar started out as a boys' name and is now given almost entirely to girls.
- First appears in US birth records in 1959.
Skylar over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1950s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1950s | 10 |
| 1960s | 40 |
| 1970s | 171 |
| 1980s | 2,092 |
| 1990s | 14,871 |
| 2000s | 28,067 |
| 2010s | 43,178 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 17,287 |
What Skylar means
Skylar means scholar or teacher, from the Dutch schuyler. The connection to the sky is a modern reinterpretation prompted by the respelling, not part of the name's history.
Where Skylar comes from
Skylar respells Schuyler, the Dutch surname from schuyler, a scholar. Philip Schuyler was a Revolutionary War general and his daughter Elizabeth married Alexander Hamilton, which put the family at the center of early American history and made the surname familiar. The English respelling to Sky- transformed how the name reads: parents now choose it for the sky sense, and reference works that give sky as the meaning are describing current understanding rather than etymology. The Dutch schuyler in fact meant one who hides or takes shelter before it meant scholar.
Skylar in use
Our data records Skylar for both sexes and shows it stable, peaking in 2015, and it first appears in our records in 1959. Its use for girls now considerably outweighs boys, following Ashley, Taylor and Madison — though unlike those it has not fully flipped, and our data still classes it unisex.
How popular is Skylar?
In 2025, Skylar was given to 1,931 babies in the United States, ranking #167 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Skylar is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Skylar
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Skylar also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Skylar over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
3 nicknames for Skylar
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Skylar in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Skylar
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Skylar — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Skylar
What does the name Skylar mean?
Skylar means "scholar," from the Dutch surname Schuyler.
Does Skylar mean sky?
No — that reading comes from the modern respelling. The source is the Dutch schuyler, a scholar.
Is Skylar a boy's or a girl's name?
Both. Our data classes it unisex, though its use for girls now considerably outweighs boys.
How popular is the name Skylar?
In 2025, Skylar was given to 1,931 babies in the United States, ranking #167 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
When was Skylar most popular?
Skylar peaked in 2015, when 5,653 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Skylar?
Skylar is usually shortened to Sky, Kylie and Skye.
Is Skylar a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Skylar currently ranks #167 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.