2000
#14,731
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,849
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.69
Rare Last name
Swarthout
An English surname derived from locations or topographical features with a dark or black hue.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,870 Americans carry the last name Swarthout. That puts it at #17,017 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.55 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 183,291 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Swarthout 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
1.9K
1 in 183,291
Census rank
#17,017
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,631 bearers of the surname Swarthout in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.55 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 17017th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Swarthout, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Swarthout
The surname Swarthout is believed to have originated in the Netherlands, specifically in the region of Gelderland, during the 16th century. The name is derived from the Dutch words "swart" meaning black, and "hout" meaning wood, likely referring to someone who lived near or worked in a wooded area with abundant blackwood trees.
The earliest recorded instances of the Swarthout surname can be found in Dutch church records and municipal archives from the late 1500s and early 1600s. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Hendrick Swarthout, born around 1580 in the town of Nijmegen, Gelderland.
In the 17th century, several Swarthout families immigrated to the Dutch colony of New Netherland, which later became part of New York. One of the first documented Swarthouts in the New World was Roelof Swarthout, who arrived in New Amsterdam (now New York City) in 1654.
Over the centuries, the Swarthout name has been spelled in various ways, including Swarthout, Swartout, Swarthowt, and Swartwout. These variations can be found in historical records and census data from the Netherlands, the United States, and other countries where descendants of the Swarthout family have settled.
Notable individuals with the surname Swarthout include:
1. Gladys Swarthout (1900-1969), an American operatic mezzo-soprano who performed with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and was a popular radio and recording artist.
2. John Swarthout (1640-1718), one of the earliest Dutch settlers in New Netherland and a founder of the town of Hurley, New York.
3. Samuel Swarthout (1753-1842), an American soldier who fought in the Revolutionary War and later served as a member of the New York State Assembly.
4. Elias Swarthout (1790-1868), an American politician and businessman who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York.
5. Henry Swarthout (1847-1928), a Union Army veteran of the American Civil War and later a prominent businessman and civic leader in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The Swarthout surname has a rich history spanning several centuries and multiple continents, with its origins rooted in the Netherlands and its branches extending to various parts of the world through migration and diaspora.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Swarthout
Among Census respondents with the surname Swarthout, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Swarthout 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 Swarthout surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.0% · 1,468
- Two or more races4.2% · 69
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 66
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 10
- Black or African American0.4% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Swarthout
Swarthout 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
#15,560
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,880
+31 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Down 829 places
2020
#17,017
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,631
-249 bearers (-13.2%)
Per 100,000 0.55
Rank movement Down 1,457 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,731 | 1,849 | 0.69 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,560 | 1,880 | 0.64 | +31 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 829 places |
| 2020 | #17,017 | 1,631 | 0.55 | -249 bearers (-13.2%) | Down 1,457 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 Swarthout 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 | #15,560 | #17,017 | -9.4% |
| Count | 1,880 | 1,631 | -13.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.64 | 0.55 | -14.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Swarthout bearers went from 1,880 to 1,631 (-13.2% change). The surname moved down 1,457 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,560 to #17,017.
FAQ
Swarthout surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Swarthout?
Name Census estimates that about 1,870 living Americans carry the surname Swarthout. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 183,291 residents.
How common is Swarthout?
Swarthout ranks #17,017 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.55 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,631 people with the surname Swarthout. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,870), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.55 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.55 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Swarthout.
Has Swarthout become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Swarthout went from 1,880 recorded bearers to 1,631. That is a decrease of 249 (-13.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #15,560 to #17,017.
What does the Census say about the background of Swarthout?
Among Census respondents with the surname Swarthout, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (4.0%). 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 Swarthout in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.0% (1,468 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Swarthout appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.0%), Two or More Races (4.2%), Hispanic (4.0%). 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 Swarthout (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 Swarthout mean?
An English surname derived from locations or topographical features with a dark or black hue. 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 Swarthout (0.55 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 Swarthout?
Find out how many people are called Swarthout on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.