2000
#119,644
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 134
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Swarmer
A surname derived from an individual who exhibited swarming or teeming behavior.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Swarmer. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Swarmer 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Swarmer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Swarmer, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are Black (0.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Swarmer
The surname Swarmer is believed to have originated in the region of Swabia, which today encompasses parts of southern Germany and Switzerland. This name can be traced back to the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century.
One of the earliest known references to this surname is found in the Codex Diplomaticus Salemitanus, a collection of medieval documents from the Benedictine abbey of Salem in modern-day Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The document, dated around 1275, mentions a person named Henricus Swarmer.
The name Swarmer is thought to have derived from the Old High German word "swarmen," which means "to swarm" or "to gather in a crowd." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived in a densely populated area or a village.
Another possible origin of the name is that it could have been an occupational surname for someone who kept bees or was involved in beekeeping, as beekeepers often had to deal with swarms of bees.
In the 14th century, records from the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, located in the historical region of Breisgau, mention a Johannes Swarmer. This indicates that the surname had spread to other parts of southern Germany by that time.
One notable individual with the surname Swarmer was Hans Swarmer (1490-1569), a German painter and woodcarver from Nuremberg. His works can be found in various churches and museums in Germany.
Another person of note was Johann Swarmer (1543-1612), a German Protestant theologian and reformer from Saxony. He was a influential figure in the Lutheran church and authored several theological works.
In Switzerland, the earliest known record of the surname Swarmer is from the 16th century, when a family by that name resided in the canton of Bern. One member, Jakob Swarmer (1521-1589), was a prominent merchant and landowner in the city of Bern.
The surname Swarmer also found its way to England, where it was sometimes anglicized to "Swarmer" or "Swarmore." Records from the 17th century show a family with this surname living in the county of Gloucestershire, with a William Swarmer (1635-1712) being a notable figure in the local community.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Swarmer is from the late 18th century, when Johann Swarmer (1763-1842) immigrated from Germany and settled in Pennsylvania, where he worked as a farmer.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Swarmer
Among Census respondents with the surname Swarmer, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are Black (0.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Swarmer 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 Swarmer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.3% · 118
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Swarmer
Swarmer 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
#140,157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-15 bearers (-11.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 20,513 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
+1 bearers (+0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,892 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #119,644 | 134 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #140,157 | 119 | 0.04 | -15 bearers (-11.2%) | Down 20,513 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.8%) | Down 1,892 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 Swarmer 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 | #140,157 | #142,049 | -1.3% |
| Count | 119 | 120 | 0.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Swarmer bearers went from 119 to 120 (+0.8% change). The surname moved down 1,892 positions in the national ranking, going from #140,157 to #142,049.
FAQ
Swarmer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Swarmer?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Swarmer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Swarmer?
Swarmer ranks #142,049 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 120 people with the surname Swarmer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), 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 Swarmer.
Has Swarmer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Swarmer went from 119 recorded bearers to 120. That is an increase of 1 (+0.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #140,157 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Swarmer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Swarmer, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are Black (0.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Swarmer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.3% (118 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Swarmer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.3%), Black (0.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Swarmer (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 Swarmer mean?
A surname derived from an individual who exhibited swarming or teeming behavior. 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 Swarmer (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 common is the surname Swarmer?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Swarmer on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.