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

Swope, 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 Swope surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Swope in America

Swope is the 4211th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Swope surname appeared 8,415 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Swope.

We can also compare 2010 data for Swope 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 Swope

The surname Swope originated in Germany, where it first appeared in the 13th century. The name is derived from the Middle High German word "swope," which means "brush" or "whisk," suggesting that the original bearer may have been a brush maker or someone associated with that trade.

The earliest recorded instance of the name dates back to 1275 in the town of Heilbronn, where a certain Konrad Swope was mentioned in local records. Another early reference is found in the 14th century in the city of Augsburg, where a Johannes Swope was listed as a resident.

Over time, the name spread to other parts of Germany and underwent various spelling variations, including Swoppe, Swopf, and Swope. In the 16th century, the name appeared in the town of Großengottern, where a family by the name of Swope was prominent.

One notable bearer of the name was Johann Swope (1590-1668), a German theologian and author who served as a pastor in the city of Nuremberg. Another was Hans Swope (1615-1682), a successful merchant and landowner in the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

As German immigrants began to settle in North America in the 18th and 19th centuries, the name Swope was brought to the New World. One of the earliest recorded instances was Michael Swope (1725-1804), a Pennsylvania Dutch farmer who settled in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in the 1760s.

Another notable American bearer of the name was Samuel Swope (1799-1868), a businessman and philanthropist from Kentucky who founded the Swope Settlement, which later became part of Kansas City, Missouri. His namesake, Thomas H. Swope (1828-1909), was a successful real estate developer and banker in the same city.

In the 20th century, the name Swope was carried by several notable figures, including Gerard Swope (1872-1957), a prominent American industrialist and president of General Electric, and Herbert Bayard Swope (1882-1958), a renowned American journalist and newspaper editor.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Swope

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

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

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

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