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

Sword, 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 Sword surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sword in America

Sword is the 9997th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sword surname appeared 3,225 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Sword.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sword 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 Sword

The surname "SWORD" is an English occupational surname that originated in the late 12th century. It derives from the Old English word "sweord," meaning a sword or a blade. This name was likely given to someone who made or sold swords, or perhaps a soldier who was skilled with a sword.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1195, which mentions a person named Richard Swerd. In the 13th century, the surname appeared in various forms, such as Swerd, Swerde, and Sworde, reflecting the spelling variations of the time.

The name Sword can be traced back to several locations in England, including Swords in County Dublin, Ireland, and Sword House in Northumberland, England. These place names may have been derived from the Old English word "sweord" or could have influenced the surname's spelling.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landowners in England compiled by order of William the Conqueror, there are no direct mentions of the surname Sword. However, it is possible that some of the recorded individuals with similar-sounding names, such as Suert or Suard, were ancestors of those who later adopted the Sword surname.

One notable historical figure with the surname Sword was William Sword (c. 1540-1617), an English churchman who served as the Dean of Windsor from 1598 until his death. Another was Sir Walter Sword (c. 1587-1653), an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in the early 17th century.

In the 18th century, John Sword (1714-1768) was a Scottish minister and philosopher who wrote on moral philosophy and theology. Thomas Sword (1781-1843) was a British naval officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and later became a Rear Admiral.

A famous bearer of the Sword surname in more recent times was Philip Sword (1865-1945), an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club in the late 19th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sword

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

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

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

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