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

Swoboda, 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 Swoboda surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Swoboda in America

Swoboda is the 13657th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Swoboda surname appeared 2,217 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 Swoboda.

We can also compare 2010 data for Swoboda 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 Swoboda

The surname Swoboda is of Polish origin, derived from the Slavic word "swoboda" meaning "freedom" or "liberty." It likely originated in the late 13th or early 14th century, during a period of significant societal and political changes in Poland.

The name is believed to have first arisen in the regions of Greater Poland and Silesia, where it was likely used to identify individuals who had gained their freedom from serfdom or had been granted certain liberties by nobility or the church. In its earliest forms, the name may have been spelled as Swobod or Swobodny.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Swoboda surname can be found in the Liber Beneficiorum, a historical record of land grants and privileges compiled by the Bishop of Wrocław in the 14th century. This document mentions a certain "Johannes Swoboda" who held land in the village of Krzyżanowice.

By the 15th century, the Swoboda name had spread to other parts of Poland, as well as to neighboring regions such as Bohemia and Moravia. In the town of Kraków, records from 1464 mention a "Stanisław Swoboda" who was a member of the local guild of goldsmiths.

One notable bearer of the Swoboda name was Jan Swoboda (1564-1617), a Polish mathematician and astronomer who studied at the University of Kraków and later became a professor there. He is known for his work on celestial mechanics and for his observations of comets and eclipses.

Another prominent figure was Franciszek Swoboda (1689-1753), a Polish-Lithuanian military commander who fought in the Great Northern War against Sweden. He rose to the rank of General and was awarded several estates for his service.

In the 19th century, the Swoboda name gained recognition through the work of Polish writer and journalist Józef Swoboda (1816-1895). He was a prolific author and advocate for Polish independence, and his works helped to shape the nationalist movement of the time.

The Swoboda surname also made its way to other parts of Europe, including Germany and Austria, where it was sometimes spelled as Svoboda or Swoboda. One notable Austrian bearer was the painter and printmaker Rudolf Swoboda (1859-1914), who was known for his etchings and landscapes depicting rural life.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Swoboda

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

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

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

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