2000
#3,514
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,294
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.45
Uncommon Last name
Swafford
Derived from a place name meaning "ford by a steep path," likely referring to a shallow river crossing.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,145 Americans carry the last name Swafford. That puts it at #3,900 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.96 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 33,786 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Swafford 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
10K
1 in 33,786
Census rank
#3,900
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.8K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,847 bearers of the surname Swafford in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.96 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3900th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Swafford, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Black (7.3%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Swafford
Among Census respondents with the surname Swafford, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Black (7.3%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Swafford 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 Swafford surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.5% · 7,386
- Black or African American7.3% · 645
- Two or more races4.9% · 436
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 256
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 65
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 59
Timeline
Historical Census data for Swafford
Swafford 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
#3,777
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,369
+75 bearers (+0.8%)
Per 100,000 3.18
Rank movement Down 263 places
2020
#3,900
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,847
-522 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 2.96
Rank movement Down 123 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,514 | 9,294 | 3.45 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,777 | 9,369 | 3.18 | +75 bearers (+0.8%) | Down 263 places |
| 2020 | #3,900 | 8,847 | 2.96 | -522 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 123 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 Swafford 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 | #3,777 | #3,900 | -3.3% |
| Count | 9,369 | 8,847 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 3.18 | 2.96 | -6.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Swafford bearers went from 9,369 to 8,847 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 123 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,777 to #3,900.
FAQ
Swafford surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Swafford?
Name Census estimates that about 10,145 living Americans carry the surname Swafford. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 33,786 residents.
How common is Swafford?
Swafford ranks #3,900 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.96 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,847 people with the surname Swafford. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,145), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.96 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.96 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Swafford.
Has Swafford become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Swafford went from 9,369 recorded bearers to 8,847. That is a decrease of 522 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,777 to #3,900.
What does the Census say about the background of Swafford?
Among Census respondents with the surname Swafford, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Black (7.3%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Swafford in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.5% (7,386 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Swafford appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.5%), Black (7.3%), Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Swafford (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 Swafford mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "ford by a steep path," likely referring to a shallow river crossing. 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 Swafford (2.96 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 share the surname Swafford?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.