2000
#148,244
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Swedlow
An English surname indicating origins from Sweden or a location with that name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Swedlow. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Swedlow 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Swedlow in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Swedlow, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.0%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Swedlow
The surname Swedlow originated in the Scandinavian region, likely in Sweden or Norway, during the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old Norse words "sveði" or "sviði," meaning "burn" or "forest clearing," combined with the suffix "-low" or "-lund," signifying a wooded area or grove.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Swedlow can be found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian documents dating back to the 13th century. In this collection, there is a reference to a landowner named Svein Svedlov, who lived in the region now known as Östergötland, Sweden.
The Swedlow name is also mentioned in the Codex Regius, an ancient Icelandic manuscript dating back to the 13th century. This manuscript contains a reference to a warrior named Thorvald Swedlow, who fought alongside the legendary Viking chieftain Ragnar Lodbrok during the 9th century.
During the 16th century, the spelling of the name evolved to its current form, Swedlow. One notable individual bearing this name was Jöns Swedlow, a Swedish farmer and landowner who lived in the village of Gräsmark in the province of Värmland. Jöns Swedlow was born in 1548 and is recorded as having owned substantial tracts of land in the region.
Another prominent figure in history with the surname Swedlow was Ingrid Swedlow, a Norwegian merchant and trader who lived in the city of Bergen during the late 17th century. Ingrid Swedlow was born in 1645 and played a significant role in the thriving trade between Norway and the Netherlands during that time.
In the 19th century, the name Swedlow gained recognition through the works of the Swedish writer and poet Carl Johan Swedlow. Born in 1818 in Gothenburg, Carl Johan Swedlow was renowned for his romantic poetry and his contributions to the Swedish literary canon.
Lastly, it is worth mentioning Hans Swedlow, a Swedish-American immigrant who settled in Minnesota in the late 19th century. Hans Swedlow, born in 1856 in the town of Falun, Sweden, was among the many Swedes who sought new opportunities in the United States during the great wave of Scandinavian immigration to America.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Swedlow
Among Census respondents with the surname Swedlow, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.0%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Swedlow 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 Swedlow surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.4% · 106
- Hispanic or Latino6.0% · 7
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Swedlow
Swedlow 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
#152,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
+5 bearers (+4.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,384 places
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+9 bearers (+8.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 7,600 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #148,244 | 102 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #152,628 | 107 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.9%) | Down 4,384 places |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+8.4%) | Up 7,600 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 Swedlow 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 | #152,628 | #145,028 | 5.0% |
| Count | 107 | 116 | 8.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Swedlow bearers went from 107 to 116 (+8.4% change). The surname moved up 7,600 positions in the national ranking, going from #152,628 to #145,028.
FAQ
Swedlow surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Swedlow?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Swedlow. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Swedlow?
Swedlow ranks #145,028 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 116 people with the surname Swedlow. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), 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 Swedlow.
Has Swedlow become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Swedlow went from 107 recorded bearers to 116. That is an increase of 9 (+8.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #152,628 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Swedlow?
Among Census respondents with the surname Swedlow, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.0%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Swedlow in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Swedlow appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.4%), Hispanic (6.0%), Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Swedlow (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 Swedlow mean?
An English surname indicating origins from Sweden or a location with that name. 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 Swedlow (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 many people are called Swedlow?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Swedlow on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.