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The Skeen surname came from the name Skene, which is from the Scottish Clan Skene of Skene. Skene is of Aberdeenshire and of Highland origin, "a current tradition being that they are descendants of the Clan Donch´, or Robertsons, of Athol" (p. 1, Clan Skeen by A.T. "Tom" Skeen)
"The name of Skene, Skean, Skeen, Skeyne, and there are other possible spellings, is an ancient one in Scotland. According to an old tradition the first to bear the name was the younger, or second son of Robertson of Struan whose claim to fame was an incident in which he saved the life of King Malcom I of Scotland.
The story goes that, as a wild wolf was about to attack King Malcom, the son of Struan moved in and struck the wolf with his dagger, almost severing the head from the body with his dagger or dirk. The Scot word for dagger is also skene. For this act of valor he was awarded some land in Aberdeenshire, later to be called the lands of Skene, so that we can assume that the family had been of the landed gentry from early times.
The family arms of Skene were formed from this incident. The escutcheon bears three daggers, or skenes, and three wolf heads above the daggers" (pp. 18-19, Clan Skeen by A.T. "Tom" Skeen).
"Tradition tells us that the name Skene dates back to the seventh century. From all reliable counts the family named Skene was a sept of an early clan called Dannacihaidh, or Doncga who later became Duncan and in even later times adopted the name Robertson. Historian, W. F. Skene, Esq., F.S.A., &c. furnishes several corroborative proofs of this. Skene seems to have long existed as a territorial appellation; hence the prefix de, applicable to place and le being always personal. John le Skene signed the Ragman's Roll, a bond of submission to King Edward I of England, in 1296. He was probably the son of Duncan of the Isles. Duncan's son, Patrick, signed the document in the same year. His grandson Robert got a charter of the land of Skene and a Baronage from King Robert the Bruce in 1317. The Baronage continued until 1824, when George Skene the 21st Baron of Skene died without issue."
Source: Clan Skene Website (no longer in existence, but archived version available at https://web.archive.org/web/20020609064940/http://www.clanskene.org...).
There was an Alexander II De Skene (Laird X of Skene), born about 1498 in Skene, Aberdeen, Scotland, and died 1517. For further reference, see "Memorials of Family of Skene of Skene, from the family papers, with other illustrative documents" by William Forbes Skene, 1809-1892, ed. Published 1887 by Aberdeen (online at https://archive.org/details/memorialsoffamil00sken). What is noteworthy about him is that his mother Agnes Forbes De Skene is a direct descendant of King Robert the Bruce of Scotland. Agnes' ancestry to him goes through James Forbes, Lord Forbes, to his mother Elizabeth Mary Douglas Forbes to her mother Mary Stewart, Princess of Scotland, Countess of Angus, wife of George Angus, Earl of Angus, through Mary's father King Robert III (John Stewart) of Scotland, through his father King Robert II (Stewart) of Scotland, through his mother Marjorie Bruce, Princess of Scotland and wife of Walter, High Steward, of Scotland. Majorie is the daughter of King Robert the Bruce.
Recommended sources:
- "Clan Skeen" by A.T. (Tom) Skeen, published 1987, Winston-Salem, NC (https://archive.org/details/clanskeen00skee)
- "Memorials of Family of Skene of Skene, from the family papers, with other illustrative documents" by William Forbes Skene, 1809-1892, ed. Published 1887 by Aberdeen (https://archive.org/details/memorialsoffamil00sken)
- "Descent of the Family of Skene" by Henry John Trotter (https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/gdc/gdclccn/85/10/64/... and https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/240359?availability=Fam... and https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/794983-desc...)
- "The Scots Peerage", founded on Wood's edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland - containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom (vol. 6), edited by Sir James Balfour Paul, Lord Lyon King of Arms (https://archive.org/stream/scotspeeragefoun06paul)
- Agnes (Forbes) Skene (1460-1515) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree and pages thereof (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Forbes-109).
- WikiTree: Category: Clan Skene (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Category:Clan_Skene)
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "Ancestral File," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:1:MZMV-T4H : accessed 30 October 2019), entry for Alexander DE SKENE (GJWG-X4)
- Geni.com: Robert the Bruce (Master Profile) and reputable pages (such as Mary Stewart, Countess of Angus) and sources thereof (Robert I the Bruce, King of Scots).
- HumphrysFamilyTree.com: Skene of Skene, Aberdeenshire, Scotland (https://humphrysfamilytree.com/Skene/)
- Geneanet: Agnes Forbes and ancestry thereof (https://gw.geneanet.org/comrade28?lang=en&p=agnes&n=forbes)
- Burke, John (1787-1848) and Burke, Bernard (1814-1892). "The Royal Families of England, Scotland, and Wales: with Their Descendants, Sovereigns and Subjects, Volume I" (https://archive.org/details/royalfamiliesofe01byuburk/page/n6/mode/1up), and "The Royal Families of England, Scotland, and Wales: with Their Descendants, Sovereigns and Subjects, Volume II" (https://archive.org/details/royalfamiliesofe02burk_0/page/n4/mode/1up) - line from James Forbes, 2nd Lord Forbes, back to Robert the Bruce
- History of the Skene Families of Aberdeenshire, Scotland - Michele Bender (https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~ourfamilyrealm/genealogy/pages/hist...)