Find out how popular the last name Schwab is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Schwab.

Schwab, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Schwab surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Schwab in America

Schwab is the 2152nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Schwab surname appeared 16,870 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 people would have the surname Schwab.

We can also compare 2010 data for Schwab to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Schwab

The surname Schwab has its origins in the German language and can be traced back to the Middle Ages in regions of present-day Germany. It is derived from the German word "Schwabe," which refers to someone from the historical region of Swabia in southwestern Germany. The name likely originated as a descriptive nickname for individuals who hailed from or had some connection to this area.

Schwab is a variant spelling of the German word "Schwabe," and it began appearing in written records as early as the 13th century. One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Salemitanus, a collection of official documents from the Benedictine monastery in Salem, Baden-Württemberg, dating back to the year 1248.

In the 14th century, the name Schwab was mentioned in the Bürgermeisterliste, a list of mayors in the city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, located in the historic region of Franconia. This suggests that individuals bearing the name had already established themselves in various parts of Germany by this time.

Over the centuries, the Schwab surname has been associated with several notable figures throughout history. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname was Johann Schwab (c. 1450-1510), a German cartographer and astronomer who was active in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Another notable bearer of the name was Johann Christoph Schwab (1743-1821), a German theologian and educator who served as a professor at the University of Heidelberg.

In the 19th century, Gustav Schwab (1792-1850) was a well-known German writer and educator who is best remembered for his adaptations of German folk tales and legends. His contemporary, Franz Xaver Schwab (1809-1869), was a German politician and statesman who served as the Minister-President of Baden from 1867 to 1869.

More recently, the name Schwab has been associated with individuals such as Charles Schwab (1937-), an American investor and financial executive who founded the Charles Schwab Corporation, one of the largest brokerage firms in the United States. Another notable figure is Klaus Schwab (1938-), a German economist and the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum.

While the Schwab surname has its roots in the German-speaking regions of Europe, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to immigration and migration patterns over the centuries. Today, individuals bearing the Schwab surname can be found in various countries, reflecting the global reach and influence of this historically significant German name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Schwab

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Schwab.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Schwab was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Schwab has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Schwab was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Schwab, please contact us.

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