2000
#147,095
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Schwanitz
A German occupational name for someone who worked as a swine herder.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Schwanitz. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Schwanitz 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Schwanitz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Schwanitz, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.9%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Schwanitz
The surname Schwanitz originates from Germany, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the German word "Schwan," meaning "swan," and the suffix "-itz," which is a Slavic locative suffix indicating a place of origin or residence.
The name Schwanitz likely originated as a toponymic surname, referring to a person who hailed from a place associated with swans, such as a town or village near a body of water where swans were commonly found. Alternatively, it could have been an occupational surname given to someone who worked with or raised swans.
One of the earliest known records of the name Schwanitz can be found in the church records of the town of Zittau, located in the modern-day state of Saxony, Germany, where a family by the name of Schwanitz is mentioned in the late 16th century. The name also appears in various historical documents from the regions of Brandenburg and Pomerania.
Notable individuals bearing the surname Schwanitz throughout history include Johann Schwanitz (1630-1701), a German Lutheran theologian and author who served as a superintendent in Zittau. Another notable figure was Friedrich Wilhelm Schwanitz (1789-1848), a Prussian military officer and writer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and wrote several works on military strategy and tactics.
In the realm of literature, the name Schwanitz is associated with Hans-Peter Schwanitz (1943-2015), a German writer and journalist known for his satirical works and social criticism. Schwanitz gained widespread recognition for his book "Der Campus," a satirical novel about academic life in Germany.
Other notable individuals include Dietrich Schwanitz (1940-2004), a German author, academic, and television personality who published the influential work "Bildung" (Education), a cultural history of the concept of self-cultivation in German tradition.
Finally, the name Schwanitz is also linked to Johann Gottlieb Schwanitz (1737-1804), a German architect and master builder who designed several notable buildings in the city of Berlin, including the Friedrichswerder Church and the Neue Wache.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the surname Schwanitz throughout history, reflecting the name's German origins and its association with various professions and fields of endeavor.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Schwanitz
Among Census respondents with the surname Schwanitz, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.9%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Schwanitz 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 Schwanitz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.3% · 93
- Hispanic or Latino4.9% · 5
- Two or more races3.9% · 4
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Schwanitz
Schwanitz 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
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
+12 bearers (+11.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,954 places
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-12 bearers (-10.4%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 10,041 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #147,095 | 103 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #144,141 | 115 | 0.04 | +12 bearers (+11.7%) | Up 2,954 places |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -12 bearers (-10.4%) | Down 10,041 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 Schwanitz 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 | #144,141 | #154,182 | -7.0% |
| Count | 115 | 103 | -10.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Schwanitz bearers went from 115 to 103 (-10.4% change). The surname moved down 10,041 positions in the national ranking, going from #144,141 to #154,182.
FAQ
Schwanitz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Schwanitz?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Schwanitz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Schwanitz?
Schwanitz ranks #154,182 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 103 people with the surname Schwanitz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Schwanitz.
Has Schwanitz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Schwanitz went from 115 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 12 (-10.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #144,141 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Schwanitz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Schwanitz, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.9%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Schwanitz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.3% (93 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Schwanitz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.3%), Hispanic (4.9%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Schwanitz (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 Schwanitz mean?
A German occupational name for someone who worked as a swine herder. 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 Schwanitz (0.03 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 common is the surname Schwanitz?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Schwanitz, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.