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

Sweetnam, 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 Sweetnam surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sweetnam in America

Sweetnam is the 79338th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sweetnam surname appeared 240 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 Sweetnam.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sweetnam 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 Sweetnam

The surname Sweetnam is of English origin, first recorded in the early 13th century. It is derived from the Old English words "swete" and "nam", meaning "sweet" and "name" respectively. This suggests the name may have originally been a nickname given to someone with a pleasing or attractive name.

The earliest known bearer of the name was Robert Swetnam, who was recorded in the Assize Court Rolls of Cambridgeshire in 1260. The name was also found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, where it was spelled as "Swetenam".

In the 14th century, the name appeared in various forms, such as "Swettenham" and "Swetnam", reflecting regional dialects and spelling variations. One notable bearer from this period was John Swetnam (c. 1560-1624), an English pamphleteer and satirist known for his controversial work "The Araignment of Lewd, Idle, Froward, and Unconstant Women".

The Sweetnam surname was also found in Cornwall, where it was associated with the village of Sweetnam, now known as Swedenground. This place name likely influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname in that region.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name continued to appear in various records, including parish registers and tax rolls. Notable bearers from this period include:

1. Richard Sweetnam (c. 1570-1640), an English lawyer and member of Parliament.
2. Thomas Sweetnam (c. 1590-1655), an English clergyman and author of religious works.
3. William Sweetnam (c. 1620-1680), a merchant and landowner in Gloucestershire, England.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Sweetnam surname spread across England and Wales, as well as to other parts of the British Empire. Some notable bearers from this period include:

4. John Sweetnam (1733-1805), an English politician and landowner in Oxfordshire.
5. Edward Sweetnam (1784-1867), an English clergyman and author who wrote on religious and educational topics.

The spelling variations of the name continued to evolve, with "Sweetnam" becoming the most common form by the 19th century. However, other variations such as "Swettenham" and "Swetnam" persisted in some regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sweetnam

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

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

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

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