2000
#131,366
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Szwast
A surname derived from the Polish word "szwacz," meaning tailor or sewer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 128 Americans carry the last name Szwast. That puts it at #147,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,677,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Szwast 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
128
1 in 2,677,768
Census rank
#147,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
112
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 112 bearers of the surname Szwast in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Szwast, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Szwast
The surname "SZWAST" is of Polish origin, tracing its roots back to the late Middle Ages. It is believed to have originated in the region of Masovia, located in central Poland, during the 15th or 16th century. The name is thought to be derived from the Polish word "szwastr," meaning "brother-in-law" or "sister's husband."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname "SZWAST" can be found in a Polish census document from the town of Płock, dated 1534. This document lists a certain Jan SZWAST as a resident of the town. Another early mention of the name appears in a land registry record from the village of Czerwińsk, dated 1592, which refers to a Maciej SZWAST as a landowner.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the surname "SZWAST" began to spread beyond its initial geographic concentration in Masovia. Records show individuals bearing this name in various parts of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which at the time encompassed much of modern-day Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine.
Notable historical figures with the surname "SZWAST" include Jakub SZWAST (1650-1718), a Polish nobleman and military officer who fought in the Polish-Ottoman War of 1672-1676. Another prominent individual was Józef SZWAST (1786-1853), a Polish writer and journalist who served as editor of the influential Warsaw-based newspaper "Gazeta Warszawska" in the early 19th century.
In the 19th century, the surname "SZWAST" also made its way to other parts of Europe through migration and emigration. For example, records show a Piotr SZWAST (1822-1898) living in the Russian Empire's territory of modern-day Belarus, while a Franciszek SZWAST (1841-1912) settled in the Austro-Hungarian Empire's region of Galicia, now part of western Ukraine.
Other notable individuals bearing the surname "SZWAST" include Stanisław SZWAST (1867-1931), a Polish engineer and inventor who patented several innovative designs for agricultural machinery, and Maria SZWAST (1889-1968), a Polish educator and women's rights activist who founded several schools for girls in the early 20th century.
While the surname "SZWAST" remains most commonly found in Poland and among the Polish diaspora, it has also been recorded in various other countries, likely due to migration and intermarriage over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Szwast
Among Census respondents with the surname Szwast, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Szwast 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 Szwast surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.3% · 109
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Szwast
Szwast 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
#134,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
+6 bearers (+5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,346 places
2020
#147,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
-13 bearers (-10.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,242 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #131,366 | 119 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #134,712 | 125 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.0%) | Down 3,346 places |
| 2020 | #147,954 | 112 | 0.04 | -13 bearers (-10.4%) | Down 13,242 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 Szwast 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 | #134,712 | #147,954 | -9.8% |
| Count | 125 | 112 | -10.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Szwast bearers went from 125 to 112 (-10.4% change). The surname moved down 13,242 positions in the national ranking, going from #134,712 to #147,954.
FAQ
Szwast surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Szwast?
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the surname Szwast. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,677,768 residents.
How common is Szwast?
Szwast ranks #147,954 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 112 people with the surname Szwast. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (128), 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 Szwast.
Has Szwast become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Szwast went from 125 recorded bearers to 112. That is a decrease of 13 (-10.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #134,712 to #147,954.
What does the Census say about the background of Szwast?
Among Census respondents with the surname Szwast, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Szwast in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.3% (109 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Szwast appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.3%), Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Szwast (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 Szwast mean?
A surname derived from the Polish word "szwacz," meaning tailor or sewer. 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 Szwast (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 people share the surname Szwast?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.