Swain Name Origin, Meaning and Family History

Swain Name Meaning: From an Old English personal name 'Swein' & in turn from the Old Norse name 'Sveinn/Sven', meaning youth (also a word sometimes used to describe a boy or boy servant).

One of the oldext surnames recroded, of viking origin. A word used to describe a boy, servant, young man or 'rustic lover' (often used in Shakespeare). Also a name given to the young master of a boat (boatswain).

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Surname Distribution

Census frequency by county

Name Concentrations Within England and Wales

Swain Surname Statistics


Top Professions for the Swain family

Profession Census Frequency
Agricultural Labourer 185
Female Servant 85
Farmer 55
Labourer 50
Independent 48
Male Servant 37
Tailor 21
Carpenter 16
Weaver 14
Shoe Maker 14
Coal Miner 14
Dress Maker 13
Blacksmith 11
Frame Work Knitter 10
Smith 9
Lace Maker 9
Publican 9
Butcher 9
Laundress 9
Servant 8
Pauper 8
Cord Wainer 8
Ag Labourer 8
Ag Lab 8
Fisher Man 8

Swain Surname Variants Ranking

Rank Surname Match Census Frequency
1 Swain 100% 39,675
2 Swan 80% 39,286
3 Swaine 83% 9,553
4 Oswin 60% 2,352
5 Swayne 67% 1,922
6 Swine 60% 752
7 Swin 80% 686
8 Swane 60% 463
9 Sewin 60% 192
10 Sween 60% 192
11 Swanne 67% 178
12 Sowen 40% 177
13 Sawn 60% 131
14 Aswin 60% 115
15 Sawin 60% 104
16 Swen 60% 102

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The surname Swain is the most popular version of all its varients

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