2000
#375
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 76,539
First available Census row
Per 100,000 28.37
Uncommon Last name
Swanson
A patronymic surname of Swedish origin meaning "son of Sven," Sven being a Scandinavian given name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 84,875 Americans carry the last name Swanson. That puts it at #439 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 24.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 4,038 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Swanson 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 Swanson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
85K
1 in 4,038
Census rank
#439
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
24.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
74K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 74,015 bearers of the surname Swanson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 24.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 439th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Swanson, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Black (4.9%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Swanson
The surname Swanson is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "swan" and "sunu," meaning "son of the swan keeper." It dates back to the early medieval period in England, around the 11th century.
The name was initially associated with individuals who were responsible for tending and caring for swans, which were highly valued birds during that time. Swans were often kept as royal birds, and their owners held a respected position.
One of the earliest records of the name Swanson can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which documented landowners and tenants throughout England. The name appeared as "Swanessune" in this historical document.
In the 12th century, the surname Swanson began to appear in various forms, such as "Swanesone," "Swanesson," and "Swanson." These variations reflect the regional dialects and spelling conventions of the time.
During the medieval period, the name Swanson was particularly prevalent in the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk in East Anglia, where swan breeding and rearing were common activities.
One notable figure with the surname Swanson was Sir John Swanson, a 14th-century English knight who served under King Edward III during the Hundred Years' War. Another early bearer of the name was William Swanson, a merchant from Norwich who was recorded in the city's records in the late 15th century.
In the 16th century, the name Swanson appeared in several parish records and court documents across England, indicating its widespread use. A notable example is Thomas Swanson, a landowner from Lincolnshire who was mentioned in the Feet of Fines (legal records) in 1558.
The surname Swanson continued to be prevalent in England throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. One notable figure was James Swanson, a member of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War in the mid-17th century.
As the British Empire expanded, the surname Swanson also spread to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia, where it was carried by English settlers and immigrants.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Swanson
Among Census respondents with the surname Swanson, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Black (4.9%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Swanson 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 Swanson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.2% · 64,517
- Black or African American4.9% · 3,617
- Two or more races3.4% · 2,506
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 2,403
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 641
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 331
Timeline
Historical Census data for Swanson
Swanson 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
#424
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 76,897
+358 bearers (+0.5%)
Per 100,000 26.07
Rank movement Down 49 places
2020
#439
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 74,015
-2,882 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 24.76
Rank movement Down 15 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #375 | 76,539 | 28.37 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #424 | 76,897 | 26.07 | +358 bearers (+0.5%) | Down 49 places |
| 2020 | #439 | 74,015 | 24.76 | -2,882 bearers (-3.7%) | Down 15 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 Swanson 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 | #424 | #439 | -3.5% |
| Count | 76,897 | 74,015 | -3.7% |
| Per 100K | 26.07 | 24.76 | -5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Swanson bearers went from 76,897 to 74,015 (-3.7% change). The surname moved down 15 positions in the national ranking, going from #424 to #439.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Swanson
FAQ
Swanson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Swanson?
Name Census estimates that about 84,875 living Americans carry the surname Swanson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 4,038 residents.
How common is Swanson?
Swanson ranks #439 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 24.76 per 100,000 residents, which is about 25 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 74,015 people with the surname Swanson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (84,875), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 24.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 24.76 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 25 of them to have the surname Swanson.
Has Swanson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Swanson went from 76,897 recorded bearers to 74,015. That is a decrease of 2,882 (-3.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #424 to #439.
What does the Census say about the background of Swanson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Swanson, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Black (4.9%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Swanson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.2% (64,517 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Swanson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.2%), Black (4.9%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Swanson (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 Swanson mean?
A patronymic surname of Swedish origin meaning "son of Sven," Sven being a Scandinavian given name. 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 Swanson (24.76 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 are called Swanson?
See how many Americans have the surname Swanson on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.