2000
#128,797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Swieton
A Polish surname meaning "world" or "secular".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Swieton. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Swieton 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Swieton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Swieton, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.8%) and Two or More Races (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Swieton
The surname "Swieton" is of Polish origin, with its roots tracing back to the 15th century in the region of Pomerania (Pomorze), which is now divided between northern Poland and western Germany. The name is derived from the Polish word "świętony," meaning "blessed" or "holy," suggesting that the earliest bearers of this surname may have been individuals of great religious piety or devotion.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name "Swieton" can be found in the parish records of the town of Słupsk, located in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland, dating back to the late 1500s. These records document the baptism of a child named Jan Swieton in the year 1592.
In the 17th century, the name "Swieton" appeared in the records of the Teutonic Knights, a Catholic military order that played a significant role in the Christianization and colonization of Prussia and the Baltic region. A knight by the name of Kasper Swieton was noted for his bravery in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, where the Teutonic Knights were decisively defeated by the allied forces of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
As the Swieton family dispersed throughout Poland and neighboring regions, the name underwent minor spelling variations, such as "Świeton," "Świątoni," and "Świętony." In the 18th century, a notable figure named Michał Świeton (1720-1789) was a renowned scholar and theologian who served as the rector of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, one of the oldest universities in Europe.
Another prominent individual bearing the surname "Swieton" was Jan Swieton (1876-1945), a Polish politician and activist who played a significant role in the struggle for Polish independence from the partitioning powers of Russia, Prussia, and Austria-Hungary. He served as a member of the Polish Sejm (parliament) in the early 20th century and was a vocal advocate for workers' rights and social reforms.
Lastly, it is worth mentioning Zofia Świeton (1898-1982), a celebrated Polish writer and poet who gained recognition for her lyrical works that explored themes of love, nature, and the human experience. Her poetry collections, such as "Wiersze wybrane" (Selected Poems), published in 1957, were widely acclaimed and cemented her place in the literary canon of 20th-century Polish literature.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Swieton
Among Census respondents with the surname Swieton, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.8%) and Two or More Races (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Swieton 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 Swieton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.3% · 118
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 1
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Swieton
Swieton 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
#127,494
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 134
+12 bearers (+9.8%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 1,303 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
-14 bearers (-10.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 14,555 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #128,797 | 122 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #127,494 | 134 | 0.05 | +12 bearers (+9.8%) | Up 1,303 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | -14 bearers (-10.4%) | Down 14,555 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 Swieton 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 | #127,494 | #142,049 | -11.4% |
| Count | 134 | 120 | -10.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -19.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Swieton bearers went from 134 to 120 (-10.4% change). The surname moved down 14,555 positions in the national ranking, going from #127,494 to #142,049.
FAQ
Swieton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Swieton?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Swieton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Swieton?
Swieton ranks #142,049 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 120 people with the surname Swieton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), 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 Swieton.
Has Swieton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Swieton went from 134 recorded bearers to 120. That is a decrease of 14 (-10.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #127,494 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Swieton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Swieton, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.8%) and Two or More Races (0.8%). 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 Swieton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.3% (118 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Swieton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.3%), Hispanic (0.8%), Two or More Races (0.8%). 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 Swieton (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 Swieton mean?
A Polish surname meaning "world" or "secular". 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 Swieton (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 Swieton?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Swieton at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.