How common is the surname Swift?

24,249 people in the United States had the surname Swift in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 12,732 Americans. It ranked 1,473rd of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Swift?

Taylor Swift, American singer-songwriter (born 1989), followed by Jonathan Swift.

Where is the surname Swift most common?

Wikidata records people named Swift in the United States, the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Ireland and 2 other countries.

How do you pronounce Swift?

Swift is /swɪft/, one syllable.

Is the surname Swift getting more or less common?

More common. 23,685 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 24,249 in 2010, up 2.4%.

The surname Swift

A nickname surname, carried by 24,249 people in the United States.

Pronounced /swɪft/ 1 syllable Soundex S130

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Swift is more common than 99.1% of them.

Origin

Derived from swift, from Middle English swift, from Old English swift, from swīfan, from Proto-Germanic *swībaną, from Proto-Indo-European *kswéybʰ-e-ti, from *ksweybʰ-.

Swift is a nickname surname: from a description or nickname of an ancestor.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 24,249 people named Swift in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 12,732 Americans. That is up 2.4% since 2000, when the Census counted 23,685.

#1,473

rank among US surnames

24,249

people in 2010

8.2

per 100,000 Americans

+2.4%

change since 2000 (was #1,372)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,464	Tolbert	24,375	12,666
#1,465	Lund	24,347	12,681
#1,466	Blue	24,341	12,684
#1,467	Kay	24,337	12,686
#1,469	Shapiro	24,335	12,687
#1,470	Whalen	24,262	12,725
#1,471	Navarrete	24,259	12,727

Who is named Swift

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

78% of people named Swift identified as white (not Hispanic), 16% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 78%
Black (not Hispanic) 16%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.4%
Two or more races 2.0%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.9%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Swifts

23 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Taylor Swift
American singer-songwriter (born 1989)
Jonathan Swift
Anglo-Irish satirist and essayist (1667–1745)
Lewis A. Swift
American astronomer, 1820–1913
Clive Swift
British actor (1936–2019)
Stromile Swift
American basketball player, born 1979
David Swift
American director and producer (1919-2001)
Jeremy Swift
British actor, born 1960
Stephanie Swift
American pornographic actress, born 1972
Austin Swift
American actor, born 1992
Connor Swift
British cyclist, born 1995
Edward D. Swift
American astronomer (1870–1935)
Gustavus Franklin Swift
American entrepreneur in the meat industry, 1839–1903

Notable Swifts come mostly from the United States (17), the United Kingdom (3) and the Kingdom of Ireland (1).

Questions

Where does the surname Swift come from?: Derived from swift, from Middle English swift, from Old English swift, from swīfan, from Proto-Germanic *swībaną, from Proto-Indo-European *kswéybʰ-e-ti, from *ksweybʰ-.
How common is the surname Swift?: 24,249 people in the United States had the surname Swift in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 12,732 Americans. It ranked 1,473rd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Swift?: In the 2010 Census, 78% of people named Swift identified as white (not Hispanic), and 16% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Swift?: Taylor Swift, American singer-songwriter (born 1989), followed by Jonathan Swift.
Where is the surname Swift most common?: Wikidata records people named Swift in the United States, the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Ireland and 2 other countries.
How do you pronounce Swift?: Swift is /swɪft/, one syllable.
What type of surname is Swift?: Swift is a nickname surname, from a description or nickname of an ancestor.
Is the surname Swift getting more or less common?: More common. 23,685 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 24,249 in 2010, up 2.4%.