2000
#57,849
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 329
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.12
Very Rare Last name
Shvarts
A Jewish surname originating from the Yiddish word for black or dark.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 413 Americans carry the last name Shvarts. That puts it at #60,433 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.12 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 829,914 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shvarts 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
413
1 in 829,914
Census rank
#60,433
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
360
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 360 bearers of the surname Shvarts in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.12 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 60433rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shvarts, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.4%) and Black (1.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Shvarts
The surname "SHVARTS" is of Jewish origin, derived from the German word "schwarz" meaning "black." It likely emerged as a descriptive name for someone with dark hair or a swarthy complexion in the Middle Ages.
The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 13th century in various German regions, where it appeared in different spellings such as "Schwartz," "Schwarz," and "Shwartz." These variations were likely due to regional dialects and scribal errors.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in records from the city of Nuremberg, with mentions of individuals like Hans Schwartz (c. 1320-1385), a prominent merchant and banker. Another notable figure was Rabbi Meir Schwartz (c. 1370-1440), a renowned Talmudic scholar from Bohemia.
As Jewish communities migrated eastward, the name spread to Poland, where it took on the Slavic spelling "Shvarts." One notable bearer was Isaac Shvarts (c. 1510-1580), a influential rabbi and Kabbalist in Kraków.
In the 17th century, the name appeared in Amsterdam's Jewish community, with Abraham Shvarts (c. 1620-1685), a successful diamond merchant and philanthropist.
During the 19th century, as Jews gained greater freedom of movement, the name spread further across Europe. Prominent bearers included Karl Schwartz (1812-1885), a German-born architect who designed several notable buildings in St. Petersburg, Russia, and Isaac Shvarts (1839-1919), a Polish-born industrialist and philanthropist in the United States.
Other notable individuals with this surname include composer Elliott Schwartz (b. 1936), actor Steven Schwartz (b. 1963), and Russian-American writer Masha Gessen (b. 1967).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shvarts
Among Census respondents with the surname Shvarts, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.4%) and Black (1.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Shvarts 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 Shvarts surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.2% · 350
- Two or more races1.4% · 5
- Black or African American1.1% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino0.3% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shvarts
Shvarts 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
#53,913
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 383
+54 bearers (+16.4%)
Per 100,000 0.13
Rank movement Up 3,936 places
2020
#60,433
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 360
-23 bearers (-6.0%)
Per 100,000 0.12
Rank movement Down 6,520 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #57,849 | 329 | 0.12 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #53,913 | 383 | 0.13 | +54 bearers (+16.4%) | Up 3,936 places |
| 2020 | #60,433 | 360 | 0.12 | -23 bearers (-6.0%) | Down 6,520 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 Shvarts 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 | #53,913 | #60,433 | -12.1% |
| Count | 383 | 360 | -6.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.13 | 0.12 | -7.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shvarts bearers went from 383 to 360 (-6.0% change). The surname moved down 6,520 positions in the national ranking, going from #53,913 to #60,433.
FAQ
Shvarts surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shvarts?
Name Census estimates that about 413 living Americans carry the surname Shvarts. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 829,914 residents.
How common is Shvarts?
Shvarts ranks #60,433 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.12 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 360 people with the surname Shvarts. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (413), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.12 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.12 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 Shvarts.
Has Shvarts become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shvarts went from 383 recorded bearers to 360. That is a decrease of 23 (-6.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #53,913 to #60,433.
What does the Census say about the background of Shvarts?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shvarts, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.4%) and Black (1.1%). 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 Shvarts in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.2% (350 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shvarts appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.2%), Two or More Races (1.4%), Black (1.1%). 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 Shvarts (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 Shvarts mean?
A Jewish surname originating from the Yiddish word for black or dark. 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 Shvarts (0.12 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 Shvarts?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Shvarts is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.