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

Sweeting, 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 Sweeting surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sweeting in America

Sweeting is the 13887th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sweeting surname appeared 2,174 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Sweeting.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sweeting 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 Sweeting

The surname Sweeting is an English name that originated as a nickname for a sweet or amiable person. It is derived from the Middle English word "swete," meaning sweet or pleasant. The name likely first emerged in the 13th or 14th century during the medieval period in England.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Sweeting can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where it is spelled as "Sweting." This document contains records of landholders and their holdings across various counties in England. The name is also mentioned in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1327, which were records of land transfers and legal agreements.

During the 16th century, the Sweeting surname was particularly prevalent in the counties of Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk in East Anglia. It is believed that the name may have originated in this region, where it was possibly derived from a place name or a local dialect term.

Notable individuals with the surname Sweeting throughout history include John Sweeting, a merchant and member of the Worshipful Company of Mercers in London, who lived in the late 16th century. Another prominent figure was William Sweeting, a Puritan minister born in 1608 in Wivenhoe, Essex, who later immigrated to New England and became one of the founders of the town of Branford, Connecticut.

In the 17th century, the surname Sweeting is recorded in various parish registers and court documents across England. For example, a Richard Sweeting was mentioned in the Protestation Returns of 1641-42, which were lists of individuals who pledged allegiance to the Protestant religion during the English Civil War.

Moving into the 18th century, the name Sweeting appeared in various historical records, including the marriage registers of St. George's Chapel in London, where a Thomas Sweeting married Elizabeth Meredith in 1713. Another notable individual was John Sweeting, a merchant and shipowner from Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, who lived from 1719 to 1788.

The 19th century saw the Sweeting surname spread to other parts of the world as emigration increased. One notable figure from this period was Charles Sweeting, an English-born Australian artist and painter who lived from 1838 to 1907 and is known for his landscapes and seascapes depicting the Australian bush and coastline.

While the surname Sweeting is not as common today as it once was, it continues to be found in various English-speaking countries, carrying with it a rich history and cultural significance rooted in its medieval English origins.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sweeting

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

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

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

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