2000
#6,180
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.89
Rare Last name
Swaim
An English toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "small cave" or "fissure in a cliff."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,915 Americans carry the last name Swaim. That puts it at #6,338 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 57,947 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Swaim 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
5.9K
1 in 57,947
Census rank
#6,338
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,158 bearers of the surname Swaim in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6338th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Swaim, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Swaim
The surname Swaim has its origins in the Anglo-Saxon culture of medieval England. It is believed to be derived from the Old English word "swæm," which means "herdsman" or "swineherd." This occupation-based surname likely referred to someone who tended to pigs or other livestock during the early medieval period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The entry "Suam" is listed as a landowner in the county of Somerset. This spelling variation is a reflection of how surnames evolved and were adapted over time.
The Swaim surname is particularly prevalent in the counties of Somerset, Devon, and Dorset in southwestern England. These regions were historically dominated by agricultural communities, which may explain the name's association with the herding profession.
In the 13th century, a John Swaim was recorded as a witness in a legal document from the town of Taunton, Somerset. This early record provides evidence of the surname's existence in the area during the Middle Ages.
Notable individuals with the Swaim surname include Sir Ambrose Swaim (1546-1628), a prominent English landowner and Member of Parliament for Somerset. Another figure was Captain John Swaim (1702-1776), a British naval officer who served during the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the Swaim surname dates back to the late 17th century. William Swaim (1655-1735) was a Quaker from Yorkshire, England, who immigrated to Pennsylvania in the 1680s and became a prominent landowner and community leader.
Another notable American with the Swaim surname was Benjamin Swaim (1786-1868), a Quaker minister and abolitionist from North Carolina. He actively campaigned against slavery and worked to establish schools for free African Americans in the antebellum South.
The Swaim surname has also been documented in other parts of the world, likely due to migration and immigration patterns. For example, John Swaim (1892-1968) was a Canadian author and journalist who wrote extensively about the history and culture of British Columbia.
While the specific origins of surnames can be difficult to pinpoint with absolute certainty, the evidence suggests that Swaim is an occupational surname that emerged in medieval England, particularly in the southwestern counties where agricultural communities thrived. Throughout history, individuals bearing this surname have made their mark in various fields, from politics and military service to literature and social activism.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Swaim
Among Census respondents with the surname Swaim, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Swaim 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 Swaim surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.8% · 4,682
- Two or more races4.2% · 219
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 145
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 46
- Black or African American0.6% · 33
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 33
Timeline
Historical Census data for Swaim
Swaim 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
#6,407
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,310
+206 bearers (+4.0%)
Per 100,000 1.80
Rank movement Down 227 places
2020
#6,338
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,158
-152 bearers (-2.9%)
Per 100,000 1.73
Rank movement Up 69 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,180 | 5,104 | 1.89 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,407 | 5,310 | 1.80 | +206 bearers (+4.0%) | Down 227 places |
| 2020 | #6,338 | 5,158 | 1.73 | -152 bearers (-2.9%) | Up 69 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 Swaim 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 | #6,407 | #6,338 | 1.1% |
| Count | 5,310 | 5,158 | -2.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.80 | 1.73 | -4.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Swaim bearers went from 5,310 to 5,158 (-2.9% change). The surname moved up 69 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,407 to #6,338.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Swaim
FAQ
Swaim surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Swaim?
Name Census estimates that about 5,915 living Americans carry the surname Swaim. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 57,947 residents.
How common is Swaim?
Swaim ranks #6,338 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.73 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,158 people with the surname Swaim. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,915), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.73 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Swaim.
Has Swaim become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Swaim went from 5,310 recorded bearers to 5,158. That is a decrease of 152 (-2.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #6,407 to #6,338.
What does the Census say about the background of Swaim?
Among Census respondents with the surname Swaim, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Swaim in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.8% (4,682 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Swaim appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.8%), Two or More Races (4.2%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Swaim (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 Swaim mean?
An English toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "small cave" or "fissure in a cliff." 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 Swaim (1.73 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 Swaim?
If you just want to know how many people are called Swaim, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.