2000
#139,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Schwers
A German surname derived from the word "schwer," meaning heavy or ponderous.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Schwers. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Schwers 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Schwers in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Schwers, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%) and Black (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Schwers
The surname SCHWERS is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "swarz" meaning "black" or "dark-haired." It likely originated as a descriptive nickname referring to a person's dark complexion or hair color.
SCHWERS is believed to have emerged in the German regions of Bavaria and Saxony during the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. Early variations of the spelling included Schwartz, Schwarz, and Schwartze.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Bürger-Buch (Citizen Book) of the city of Nuremberg, dating back to 1395, which mentions a certain "Hanns Schwarz."
In the 16th century, the SCHWERS surname appeared in various German church records and tax registers. For example, a "Michael Schwers" was listed among the residents of the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in 1523.
Notable historical figures with the surname SCHWERS include Johann Balthasar Schwers (1628-1692), a German Lutheran theologian and author from Erfurt. Another was Johann Georg Schwers (1751-1804), a German jurist and legal scholar from Nuremberg.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the surname spread beyond German-speaking regions due to emigration. One example is the Austrian-born American painter Theobald von Oer Schwers (1858-1932), who was active in Philadelphia and is known for his portraits and landscape paintings.
Other individuals of note include Wilhelm Schwers (1775-1851), a German merchant and politician who served as a member of the Frankfurt Parliament in 1848, and Karl Schwers (1904-1966), a German army officer and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II.
The surname SCHWERS continues to be most prevalent in Germany, particularly in the states of Bavaria, Saxony, and Rhineland-Palatinate, where it has deep historical roots.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Schwers
Among Census respondents with the surname Schwers, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%) and Black (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Schwers 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 Schwers surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 110
- Hispanic or Latino5.9% · 7
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Schwers
Schwers 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
#136,449
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
+13 bearers (+11.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 3,308 places
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-4 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,339 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #139,757 | 110 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #136,449 | 123 | 0.04 | +13 bearers (+11.8%) | Up 3,308 places |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.3%) | Down 6,339 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 Schwers 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 | #136,449 | #142,788 | -4.6% |
| Count | 123 | 119 | -3.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Schwers bearers went from 123 to 119 (-3.3% change). The surname moved down 6,339 positions in the national ranking, going from #136,449 to #142,788.
FAQ
Schwers surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Schwers?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Schwers. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Schwers?
Schwers ranks #142,788 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 119 people with the surname Schwers. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), 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 Schwers.
Has Schwers become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Schwers went from 123 recorded bearers to 119. That is a decrease of 4 (-3.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #136,449 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Schwers?
Among Census respondents with the surname Schwers, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%) and Black (0.8%). 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 Schwers in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Schwers appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.4%), Hispanic (5.9%), Black (0.8%). 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 Schwers (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 Schwers mean?
A German surname derived from the word "schwer," meaning heavy or ponderous. 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 Schwers (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 have the last name Schwers?
See how many people have the surname Schwers on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.