2000
#114,166
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 142
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Swol
A Swedish surname derived from an Old Norse word meaning to swell up or grow large.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 128 Americans carry the last name Swol. That puts it at #147,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,677,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Swol 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
128
1 in 2,677,768
Census rank
#147,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
112
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 112 bearers of the surname Swol in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Swol, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.4%. The next largest groups are Black (0.9%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Swol
The surname SWOL is believed to have originated in the Netherlands during the 16th century. It is thought to be derived from the Dutch word "zwol," which means "swollen" or "puffed up." This could suggest that the name was initially given as a descriptive nickname to someone who appeared to be large or stout in stature.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the SWOL surname can be found in the Dutch census records of 1567, where a family by the name of Swol was listed as residing in the town of Gouda. It is possible that this family may have taken their name from the nearby town of Zwol, which is now known as Zwolle.
In the 17th century, the SWOL surname began to appear in various historical documents across the Netherlands and surrounding regions. For example, a merchant named Jan SWOL was mentioned in a trade agreement between the Dutch East India Company and the Sultan of Aceh in 1641.
As the Dutch Colonial Empire expanded, the SWOL name spread to other parts of the world. In 1684, a man named Pieter SWOL was recorded as being part of a Dutch settlement in what is now Cape Town, South Africa.
One notable individual with the SWOL surname was Dirk SWOL, a Dutch artist born in 1718. He was known for his intricate landscape paintings and is considered one of the most prominent figures of the Dutch Golden Age of painting.
Another significant figure was Cornelis SWOL, a Dutch military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars. He was born in 1785 and fought in several key battles, including the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
In the 19th century, the SWOL surname began to appear more frequently in various parts of Europe, including Germany and Belgium. One example is Wilhelm SWOL, a German philosopher born in 1832, who wrote extensively on the concepts of existentialism and phenomenology.
As the SWOL family name continued to spread and evolve, it took on various spellings and variations, such as Swoll, Swolle, and Swole. However, the core meaning and origins of the name remained rooted in the Dutch language and culture.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Swol
Among Census respondents with the surname Swol, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.4%. The next largest groups are Black (0.9%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Swol 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 Swol surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.4% · 108
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Swol
Swol 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
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
-21 bearers (-14.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 24,138 places
2020
#147,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
-9 bearers (-7.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,650 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #114,166 | 142 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | -21 bearers (-14.8%) | Down 24,138 places |
| 2020 | #147,954 | 112 | 0.04 | -9 bearers (-7.4%) | Down 9,650 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 Swol 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 | #138,304 | #147,954 | -7.0% |
| Count | 121 | 112 | -7.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Swol bearers went from 121 to 112 (-7.4% change). The surname moved down 9,650 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #147,954.
FAQ
Swol surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Swol?
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the surname Swol. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,677,768 residents.
How common is Swol?
Swol ranks #147,954 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 112 people with the surname Swol. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (128), 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 Swol.
Has Swol become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Swol went from 121 recorded bearers to 112. That is a decrease of 9 (-7.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #147,954.
What does the Census say about the background of Swol?
Among Census respondents with the surname Swol, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.4%. The next largest groups are Black (0.9%) and Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Swol in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.4% (108 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Swol appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.4%), Black (0.9%), Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Swol (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 Swol mean?
A Swedish surname derived from an Old Norse word meaning to swell up or grow large. 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 Swol (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 Swol?
See how common the surname Swol is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.