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

Swearington, 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 Swearington surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Swearington in America

Swearington is the 87663rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Swearington surname appeared 212 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Swearington.

We can also compare 2010 data for Swearington 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 Swearington

The surname Swearington is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English words "swært" meaning "dark" or "swarthy" and "ing" denoting a patronymic suffix, suggesting the name may have originally referred to someone with a dark complexion or someone from a place with a dark or swampy landscape.

One of the earliest recorded references to the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Swarting" in the county of Hertfordshire. This entry indicates that the name was already in use during the 11th century and may have evolved from an earlier place name or descriptive term.

In the 13th century, the spelling "Swarington" is recorded in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire, suggesting the name may have had regional variations in its early form. By the 14th century, the spelling had evolved closer to its modern form, with records showing "Swerington" and "Sweryngton" in various parts of England.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Sir John Swearington, a knight who fought in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 during the Hundred Years' War. Another notable figure was William Swearington, a merchant from Bristol who was granted a coat of arms in 1578 for his services to the city.

In the 17th century, the name appears in several parish records, including those of St. Mary's Church in Bury St. Edmunds, where the baptism of Thomas Swearington is recorded in 1634. During this period, the Swearington family is also believed to have had connections to the village of Swearington in Northamptonshire, which may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname.

In the 18th century, John Swearington (1702-1778) was a prominent landowner and politician in Virginia, serving as a member of the House of Burgesses and playing a role in the American Revolution. Another notable figure was Elizabeth Swearington (1737-1819), a Quaker writer and activist from Pennsylvania who advocated for the abolition of slavery and women's rights.

In the 19th century, the Swearington family produced several notable figures, including Dr. James Swearington (1820-1892), a physician and Civil War veteran who served in the Union Army, and William Swearington (1845-1919), a businessman and philanthropist who founded the Swearington Foundation in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri.

While the surname has evolved over centuries and spread across different regions, its roots can be traced back to medieval England, where it likely originated as a descriptive term or place name reflecting the dark or swampy characteristics of a particular location.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Swearington

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

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

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

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