2000
#18,288
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,399
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.52
Rare Last name
Swider
A surname derived from the Polish word meaning "whistler".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,557 Americans carry the last name Swider. That puts it at #19,847 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.45 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 220,138 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Swider 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
1.6K
1 in 220,138
Census rank
#19,847
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,358 bearers of the surname Swider in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.45 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 19847th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Swider, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Two or More Races (1.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Swider
The surname Swider has its origins in Poland, where it first emerged in the 15th century. The name is derived from the Polish word "świder," which means "auger" or "drill," likely referring to an ancestor's occupation as a carpenter or woodworker.
Swider is believed to have originated in the Masovian region of central Poland, although it was also present in other areas of the country. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in various Polish historical records, including parish registers and court documents from the late 15th and early 16th centuries.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Swider surname was Jan Swider, a landowner and merchant from the town of Płock, who is mentioned in a document dated 1482. Another notable figure was Mikołaj Swider, a prominent Polish lawyer and judge who lived in the 16th century.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Swider name gained prominence among the Polish nobility, with several families bearing this surname holding significant estates and titles. For instance, the Swider family of Masovia was granted a coat of arms by King Sigismund III Vasa in 1621.
In the 19th century, a number of individuals with the Swider surname made contributions to various fields. One such person was Józef Swider (1800-1868), a Polish writer and translator who was known for his translations of works by William Shakespeare and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
Another notable individual was Kazimierz Świder (1864-1940), a Polish architect who designed several notable buildings in Warsaw, including the Warsaw Philharmonic and the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Poland.
As Polish immigrants began arriving in other countries, the Swider surname spread to different parts of the world. For example, Antoni Świder (1878-1961) was a Polish-American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Swider's Furniture Company in Michigan.
Overall, the surname Swider has a rich history that can be traced back to its Polish roots, with many individuals bearing this name making significant contributions in various domains throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Swider
Among Census respondents with the surname Swider, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Two or More Races (1.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Swider 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 Swider surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.7% · 1,300
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 24
- Two or more races1.5% · 20
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 5
- Black or African American0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Swider
Swider 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
#18,841
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,452
+53 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.49
Rank movement Down 553 places
2020
#19,847
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,358
-94 bearers (-6.5%)
Per 100,000 0.45
Rank movement Down 1,006 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #18,288 | 1,399 | 0.52 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #18,841 | 1,452 | 0.49 | +53 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 553 places |
| 2020 | #19,847 | 1,358 | 0.45 | -94 bearers (-6.5%) | Down 1,006 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 Swider 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 | #18,841 | #19,847 | -5.3% |
| Count | 1,452 | 1,358 | -6.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.49 | 0.45 | -7.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Swider bearers went from 1,452 to 1,358 (-6.5% change). The surname moved down 1,006 positions in the national ranking, going from #18,841 to #19,847.
FAQ
Swider surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Swider?
Name Census estimates that about 1,557 living Americans carry the surname Swider. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 220,138 residents.
How common is Swider?
Swider ranks #19,847 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.45 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 1,358 people with the surname Swider. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,557), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.45 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.45 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 Swider.
Has Swider become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Swider went from 1,452 recorded bearers to 1,358. That is a decrease of 94 (-6.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #18,841 to #19,847.
What does the Census say about the background of Swider?
Among Census respondents with the surname Swider, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Two or More Races (1.5%). 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 Swider in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.7% (1,300 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Swider appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.7%), Hispanic (1.8%), Two or More Races (1.5%). 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 Swider (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 Swider mean?
A surname derived from the Polish word meaning "whistler". 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 Swider (0.45 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 Americans have the surname Swider?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.