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

Swearingen, 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 Swearingen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Swearingen in America

Swearingen is the 4506th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Swearingen surname appeared 7,872 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 Swearingen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Swearingen 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 Swearingen

The surname Swearingen is of German origin, derived from the Old German words "sweren" meaning "to swear" and "ingen" meaning "people" or "settlement." It likely originated in the region of modern-day Germany in the 12th or 13th century.

One of the earliest recorded instances of this surname can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of historical documents from Germany, where a "Swerngin" is mentioned as a witness to a land transaction in the year 1269.

The name may have been initially given to someone who had a reputation for swearing or taking oaths frequently, or it could have referred to a group of people who lived in a settlement where oaths were commonly taken, perhaps near a court or place of legal proceedings.

In the 14th century, the name appears in various forms such as "Sweringen," "Sweringin," and "Sweringen" in records from the regions of Bavaria and Saxony.

One notable bearer of the Swearingen name was Johannes Swearingen, a German monk and scholar who lived from 1492 to 1557. He was known for his writings on theology and his contributions to the Protestant Reformation.

Another notable figure was Thomas Swearingen, born in 1695 in Hesse, Germany, who immigrated to colonial America in the early 18th century and settled in what is now Loudoun County, Virginia. He and his descendants played a significant role in the early settlement and development of that region.

In the United States, the Swearingen name can be traced back to the 18th century, with many immigrants arriving from various parts of Germany and Switzerland. Some early bearers of the name include Jacob Swearingen, born in 1725 in Pennsylvania, and Michael Swearingen, born in 1730 in Virginia.

The Swearingen name was also present in the American Civil War, with several individuals serving in both the Union and Confederate armies, such as Captain John Swearingen, who served in the 6th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry Regiment for the Union.

Throughout its history, the Swearingen surname has been associated with various occupations and professions, including farming, law, education, and military service.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Swearingen

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!