2000
#146,011
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Swomley
Probably an English locational surname meaning someone from a valley with many alders.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Swomley. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Swomley 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
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Swomley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Swomley, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.4%) and Black (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Swomley
The surname Swomley is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from an Old English place name "Swammaleah," which may have referred to a meadow or clearing where swine were raised or grazed.
Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in historical records from the county of Norfolk, where variations such as "Swamley" and "Swomeley" appear in parish registers and tax rolls from the 13th and 14th centuries. This suggests that the name may have originated in this region of East Anglia.
In the Hundred Rolls of 1273, a record of landowners in England, there is mention of a "Willelmus de Swameley" from Norfolk. This is one of the earliest documented examples of the name in its more modern spelling.
By the 16th century, the Swomley surname had spread to other parts of England, as evidenced by entries in records such as the Subsidy Rolls of 1524, which list individuals with the name residing in counties like Suffolk and Essex.
One notable historical figure with the Swomley surname was John Swomley (c. 1560-1630), an English clergyman who served as the rector of Tittleshall in Norfolk in the early 17th century.
Another individual of note was Sir Thomas Swomley (1615-1672), a naval officer who served in the English Civil War and later became an admiral in the Commonwealth Navy under Oliver Cromwell.
In the 18th century, William Swomley (1725-1792) was a prominent merchant and landowner in the town of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.
During the 19th century, the Swomley name gained some recognition in the field of education, with figures like Samuel Swomley (1819-1887), who was a respected headmaster and educator in the English Midlands.
Finally, one of the more recent notable individuals with the Swomley surname was John Swomley (1915-2010), an American ethicist, civil rights activist, and pacifist who advocated for separation of church and state and was a vocal critic of the Vietnam War.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Swomley
Among Census respondents with the surname Swomley, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.4%) and Black (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Swomley 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 Swomley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.8% · 97
- Two or more races7.4% · 8
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Swomley
Swomley 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
#149,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
+6 bearers (+5.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,384 places
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-2 bearers (-1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,540 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #146,011 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #149,395 | 110 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.8%) | Down 3,384 places |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.8%) | Down 1,540 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 Swomley 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 | #149,395 | #150,935 | -1.0% |
| Count | 110 | 108 | -1.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Swomley bearers went from 110 to 108 (-1.8% change). The surname moved down 1,540 positions in the national ranking, going from #149,395 to #150,935.
FAQ
Swomley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Swomley?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Swomley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Swomley?
Swomley ranks #150,935 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 108 people with the surname Swomley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), 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 Swomley.
Has Swomley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Swomley went from 110 recorded bearers to 108. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #149,395 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Swomley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Swomley, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.4%) and Black (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 Swomley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Swomley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.8%), Two or More Races (7.4%), Black (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 Swomley (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 Swomley mean?
Probably an English locational surname meaning someone from a valley with many alders. 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 Swomley (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 Americans have the surname Swomley?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.