Swanson
From a Scandinavian surname meaning "son of the swan herd".
Name Census estimates that about 24 living Americans carry the first name Swanson. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Swanson today is around 79 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Swanson births was 1934 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Swanson. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Swanson is about 79 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Swansons were born before 1957.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Swanson. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
24
~ 1 in 14,281,431 Americans
Peak year
1934
11 babies that year
Average age
79
years old
1963 SSA rank
#4,002
Tracked since 1916
Census
Swanson in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 161 people with the first name Swanson, which placed it at #43,643 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#43,643
National first-name rank
People counted
161
161 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
58.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Swanson
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Swanson is White at 58.4%. The next largest groups are Black (28.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Swanson described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Swanson at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.4% · 94
- Black or African American28.0% · 45
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.6% · 9
- Two or more races3.7% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 2
Popularity
Swanson: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Swanson from the 1910s through to the 1960s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 56 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Swanson by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Swanson during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Swansons live
Origin
Meaning and history of Swanson
The name Swanson has its origins in the English language, derived from the words "swan" and "son." It is believed to have emerged as a surname during the Middle Ages, referring to someone who was a keeper or breeder of swans. The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 13th century in England.
One of the earliest documented individuals with the name Swanson was Sir Robert Swanson, a medieval English nobleman born in the late 12th century. He was a prominent figure in the court of King John and played a significant role in the negotiations leading to the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215.
In the realm of literature, the name Swanson appears in Geoffrey Chaucer's famous work, "The Canterbury Tales," written in the late 14th century. One of the pilgrims, a young squire, is referred to as "Swanson" in some manuscripts, though the spelling varies.
During the Renaissance period, a notable figure named Swanson was John Swanson, a Scottish mathematician and astronomer born in 1534. He made significant contributions to the field of navigation and was instrumental in the development of new navigational techniques used by seafarers of the time.
In the 17th century, William Swanson, an English composer and organist, gained recognition for his sacred music compositions. He served as the organist at the Chapel Royal in London and was highly regarded for his skill and talent.
Moving forward to the 19th century, one of the most prominent individuals with the name Swanson was Eric Swanson, a Swedish-American explorer and naturalist born in 1848. He led several expeditions to the Arctic regions and made significant contributions to the study of Arctic flora and fauna.
Throughout history, the name Swanson has been associated with various professions and fields, including literature, science, music, and exploration. While its origins lie in the English language, the name has been adopted and used across different cultures and regions, reflecting its enduring popularity and significance.
People
Swanson + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Swanson as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Swanson: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Swanson?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 24 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Swanson going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 14,281,431 US residents.
Is Swanson a common name?
We classify Swanson as "Very Rare". It ranks above 43% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 121 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Swanson most popular?
The single biggest year for Swanson was 1934, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Swanson is about 79 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Swanson in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 161 people with the name Swanson, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,643 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Swanson in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Swanson?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Swanson leans strongly male. 130 people counted with this name were male (81.3%), compared with 30 female bearers (18.8%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Swanson?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Swanson is White at 58.4%. The next largest groups are Black (28.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Swanson most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Swanson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.4% (94 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Swanson in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Swanson a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Swanson in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Swanson still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Swanson in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Swanson can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Swanson?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Swanson on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.