2000
#9,408
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,173
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.18
Rare Last name
Sword
An occupational surname referring to a soldier, swordsman, or one who makes or sells swords.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,586 Americans carry the last name Sword. That puts it at #9,868 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 95,581 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sword 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Sword with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.6K
1 in 95,581
Census rank
#9,868
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,127 bearers of the surname Sword in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9868th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sword, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Black (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sword
Among Census respondents with the surname Sword, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Black (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Sword 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 Sword surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.2% · 2,788
- Two or more races4.1% · 127
- Black or African American2.8% · 87
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 79
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sword
Sword 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
#9,997
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,225
+52 bearers (+1.6%)
Per 100,000 1.09
Rank movement Down 589 places
2020
#9,868
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,127
-98 bearers (-3.0%)
Per 100,000 1.05
Rank movement Up 129 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,408 | 3,173 | 1.18 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,997 | 3,225 | 1.09 | +52 bearers (+1.6%) | Down 589 places |
| 2020 | #9,868 | 3,127 | 1.05 | -98 bearers (-3.0%) | Up 129 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 Sword 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 | #9,997 | #9,868 | 1.3% |
| Count | 3,225 | 3,127 | -3.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.09 | 1.05 | -4.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sword bearers went from 3,225 to 3,127 (-3.0% change). The surname moved up 129 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,997 to #9,868.
FAQ
Sword surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sword?
Name Census estimates that about 3,586 living Americans carry the surname Sword. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 95,581 residents.
How common is Sword?
Sword ranks #9,868 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.05 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,127 people with the surname Sword. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,586), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.05 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Sword.
Has Sword become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sword went from 3,225 recorded bearers to 3,127. That is a decrease of 98 (-3.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,997 to #9,868.
What does the Census say about the background of Sword?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sword, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Black (2.8%). 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 Sword in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.2% (2,788 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sword appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.2%), Two or More Races (4.1%), Black (2.8%). 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 Sword (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 Sword mean?
An occupational surname referring to a soldier, swordsman, or one who makes or sells swords. 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 Sword (1.05 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 last name Sword?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Sword on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.