2000
#3,858
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,457
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.13
Rare Last name
Swope
Derived from a Middle English occupational name for a soap maker or seller.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,139 Americans carry the last name Swope. That puts it at #4,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 37,505 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Swope 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
9.1K
1 in 37,505
Census rank
#4,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,970 bearers of the surname Swope in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Swope, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Black (4.5%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Swope
Among Census respondents with the surname Swope, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Black (4.5%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Swope 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 Swope surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.4% · 6,963
- Black or African American4.5% · 360
- Two or more races3.7% · 294
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 250
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 71
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 32
Timeline
Historical Census data for Swope
Swope 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
#4,211
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,415
-42 bearers (-0.5%)
Per 100,000 2.85
Rank movement Down 353 places
2020
#4,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,970
-445 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 2.67
Rank movement Down 98 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,858 | 8,457 | 3.13 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,211 | 8,415 | 2.85 | -42 bearers (-0.5%) | Down 353 places |
| 2020 | #4,309 | 7,970 | 2.67 | -445 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 98 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 Swope 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 | #4,211 | #4,309 | -2.3% |
| Count | 8,415 | 7,970 | -5.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.85 | 2.67 | -6.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Swope bearers went from 8,415 to 7,970 (-5.3% change). The surname moved down 98 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,211 to #4,309.
FAQ
Swope surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Swope?
Name Census estimates that about 9,139 living Americans carry the surname Swope. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 37,505 residents.
How common is Swope?
Swope ranks #4,309 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.67 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,970 people with the surname Swope. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,139), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.67 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.67 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Swope.
Has Swope become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Swope went from 8,415 recorded bearers to 7,970. That is a decrease of 445 (-5.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,211 to #4,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Swope?
Among Census respondents with the surname Swope, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Black (4.5%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Swope in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.4% (6,963 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Swope appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.4%), Black (4.5%), Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Swope (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 Swope mean?
Derived from a Middle English occupational name for a soap maker or seller. 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 Swope (2.67 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 surname Swope?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.