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

Swafford, 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 Swafford surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Swafford in America

Swafford is the 3777th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Swafford surname appeared 9,369 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Swafford.

We can also compare 2010 data for Swafford 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 Swafford

The surname Swafford is of English origin, deriving from one of several place names in England. The most likely source is Swaffham, a town in Norfolk, which dates back to the Saxon era. Swaffham comes from the Old English words "swafu" meaning "fen" or "marshy area" and "ham" meaning "homestead" or "settlement".

Another potential origin is the village of Swaffield in Lincolnshire, which was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Swafelt". This name combines the Old English personal name "Swafa" with "feld", meaning "field" or "open country".

The earliest known record of the Swafford surname dates back to 1275 in Norfolk, where a Thomas Swafford is mentioned in the Hundredorum Rolls. Other early spellings include Swaforde, Swaford, and Swafforde.

Notable individuals with the Swafford surname include John Swafford (1766-1838), a pioneer settler in Tennessee, and William Henry Swafford (1833-1917), a Confederate soldier during the American Civil War. In the 19th century, Mary Jane Swafford (1848-1913) was a renowned educator and women's rights advocate in Kentucky.

More recently, Thomas Swafford (1893-1977) was a respected judge in Oklahoma, while William J. Swafford (1914-2000) was a highly decorated World War II veteran who received the Distinguished Service Cross for his bravery in the Battle of the Bulge.

Throughout its history, the Swafford name has maintained a strong presence in various parts of England, particularly Norfolk and Lincolnshire, before spreading to other regions of the United Kingdom and eventually to North America.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Swafford

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

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 Swafford 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 Swafford 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 Swafford was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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