2000
#12,929
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,179
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.81
Rare Last name
Swoboda
A habitational surname referring to a person from any of various places named Svoboda, meaning "freedom" in Czech/Slovak.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,470 Americans carry the last name Swoboda. That puts it at #13,501 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.72 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 138,767 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Swoboda 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
2.5K
1 in 138,767
Census rank
#13,501
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,154 bearers of the surname Swoboda in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.72 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13501st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Swoboda, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Swoboda
Among Census respondents with the surname Swoboda, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Swoboda 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 Swoboda surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 1,975
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 88
- Two or more races3.0% · 64
- Black or African American0.6% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Swoboda
Swoboda 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
#13,657
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,217
+38 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Down 728 places
2020
#13,501
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,154
-63 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Up 156 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,929 | 2,179 | 0.81 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,657 | 2,217 | 0.75 | +38 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 728 places |
| 2020 | #13,501 | 2,154 | 0.72 | -63 bearers (-2.8%) | Up 156 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 Swoboda 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 | #13,657 | #13,501 | 1.1% |
| Count | 2,217 | 2,154 | -2.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.75 | 0.72 | -3.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Swoboda bearers went from 2,217 to 2,154 (-2.8% change). The surname moved up 156 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,657 to #13,501.
FAQ
Swoboda surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Swoboda?
Name Census estimates that about 2,470 living Americans carry the surname Swoboda. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 138,767 residents.
How common is Swoboda?
Swoboda ranks #13,501 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.72 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,154 people with the surname Swoboda. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,470), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.72 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.72 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Swoboda.
Has Swoboda become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Swoboda went from 2,217 recorded bearers to 2,154. That is a decrease of 63 (-2.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,657 to #13,501.
What does the Census say about the background of Swoboda?
Among Census respondents with the surname Swoboda, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Swoboda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (1,975 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Swoboda appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Hispanic (4.1%), Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Swoboda (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 Swoboda mean?
A habitational surname referring to a person from any of various places named Svoboda, meaning "freedom" in Czech/Slovak. 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 Swoboda (0.72 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 have the last name Swoboda?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Swoboda, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.