2000
#150,436
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Schwane
A German surname derived from the word "Schwan," meaning swan.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Schwane. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Schwane surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Schwane in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Schwane, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%) and Two or More Races (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Schwane
The surname SCHWANE is of German origin, originating in the medieval period. It is derived from the Old German word "swana," which means "swan." The name likely originated as a descriptive nickname, given to someone who had a physical resemblance or other association with swans.
The earliest recorded instances of the SCHWANE surname can be found in various German historical records and documents from the 13th and 14th centuries. One notable example is the mention of a "Heinricus Swane" in the town records of Nuremberg in 1294.
In the 15th century, the surname appeared in different spellings, such as "Schwahn" and "Schwan," reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions. One notable bearer of the SCHWANE name during this time was Hans Schwahn, a merchant from Lübeck, who was mentioned in records from 1472.
The SCHWANE surname has also been associated with various place names in Germany, including Schwanau, a town in the Black Forest region, and Schwanenstadt, a town in Upper Austria. These place names are believed to have derived from the same root word as the surname, indicating the presence of swans in these areas.
One of the earliest known bearers of the SCHWANE surname was Johannes Schwane, a German theologian and philosopher who lived from 1499 to 1560. He was a prominent figure in the Protestant Reformation and authored several theological works.
Another notable figure with the SCHWANE surname was Friedrich Schwahn, a German painter who lived from 1766 to 1828. He was known for his landscape paintings and worked in the Romantic style.
In the 19th century, a prominent bearer of the SCHWANE name was Max Schwahn, a German politician and lawyer who served in the Reichstag (parliament) from 1890 to 1912. He was a member of the Free-minded Union political party and advocated for civil rights and social reforms.
The SCHWANE surname has also been associated with notable figures in the field of science. One example is Alfred Schwane, a German physicist who lived from 1875 to 1954. He made significant contributions to the study of radioactivity and worked with renowned scientists such as Marie Curie.
Another bearer of the SCHWANE surname was Karl Schwane, a German author and journalist who lived from 1877 to 1942. He wrote several novels and works of literary criticism and was known for his contributions to the development of modern German literature.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Schwane
Among Census respondents with the surname Schwane, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%) and Two or More Races (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Schwane bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Schwane surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.2% · 108
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Schwane
Schwane appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#154,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
+5 bearers (+5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,471 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
+5 bearers (+4.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 5,461 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #150,436 | 100 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #154,907 | 105 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+5.0%) | Down 4,471 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.8%) | Up 5,461 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Schwane surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #154,907 | #149,446 | 3.5% |
| Count | 105 | 110 | 4.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Schwane bearers went from 105 to 110 (+4.8% change). The surname moved up 5,461 positions in the national ranking, going from #154,907 to #149,446.
FAQ
Schwane surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Schwane?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Schwane. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Schwane?
Schwane ranks #149,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 110 people with the surname Schwane. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Schwane.
Has Schwane become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Schwane went from 105 recorded bearers to 110. That is an increase of 5 (+4.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #154,907 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Schwane?
Among Census respondents with the surname Schwane, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%) and Two or More Races (0.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Schwane in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.2% (108 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Schwane appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%), Two or More Races (0.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Schwane (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Schwane mean?
A German surname derived from the word "Schwan," meaning swan. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Schwane (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Schwane?
Find out how common the surname Schwane is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.