Swan Name Origin, Meaning and Family History

Swan Name Meaning: From an Old English personal name 'Swein' & in turn from the Old Norse name 'Sveinn'.

First found in Lanarkshire & was a nickname given to a person noted for purity or excellence, or resembling a swan in some other way.

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Surname Distribution

Census frequency by county

Name Concentrations Within England and Wales

Swan Surname Statistics


Top Professions for the Swan family

Profession Census Frequency
Agricultural Labourer 212
Female Servant 142
Independent 98
Labourer 70
Male Servant 47
Farmer 35
Weaver 29
Shoe Maker 26
Carpenter 17
Cotton Weaver 16
Dress Maker 15
Butcher 15
Tailor 14
Ag Labourer 14
Apprentice 13
Coal Miner 13
Laundress 11
Independant 10
Gardener 10
Painter 10
Mason 10
Clerk 9
Blacksmith 9
Cotton Spinner 9
Grocer 9

Swan Surname Variants Ranking

Rank Surname Match Census Frequency
1 Swain 80% 39,675
2 Swan 100% 39,286
3 Swann 80% 21,620
4 Swaine 67% 9,553
5 Oswin 60% 2,352
6 Swine 60% 752
7 Swin 75% 686
8 Swane 80% 463
9 Sewin 60% 192
10 Sween 60% 192
11 Sowen 60% 177
12 Sawn 50% 131
13 Aswin 60% 115
14 Sawin 60% 104
15 Swen 75% 102

Did you know?

The surname Swan is the 2nd most popular variant of Swain.

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