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Swain History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Swain History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland
Scotland

Irish names tend to vary widely in their spelling and overall form. The original Gaelic form of the name Swain is Mac Suibhne, which is derived from the word "suibhne," which means "pleasant."

Early Origins of the Swain family

The surname Swain was first found in County Donegal (Irish: Dún na nGall), northwest Ireland in the province of Ulster, sometimes referred to as County Tyrconnel. The name is derived from Suibhne O'Neill, who was a chieftain in Argyll, Scotland. His descendants migrated to Ireland as gallowglasses (mercenaries) prior to 1267. The three great septs of this name finally established themselves in Tirconnell in 14th century; they were known as MacSweeney Fanad, MacSweeney Banagh, and MacSweeney na dTuath, who were commonly referred to as 'MacSweeney of the Battleaxes.' They later became attached to the MacCarthys in the south and acquired their own territories and castles in Muskerry in County Cork.

Early History of the Swain family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Swain research. Another 69 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1299 and 1310 are included under the topic Early Swain History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Swain Spelling Variations

Pronunciation, rather than spelling, guided scribes and church officials when recording names during the Middle Ages. This practice often resulted in one person's name being recorded under several different spellings. Numerous spelling variations of the surname Swain are preserved in these old documents. The various spellings of the name that were found include MacSweeney, MacSweeny, MacSwine, MacSwiney, MacSwyne, MacSwyny, MacWhinney, MacWhinny, MacWhinnie, MacSwiny, McSweeney, Swiney, Swinney and many more.

Early Notables of the Swain family

Prominent amongst the family at this time was John MacSween, a 13th-14th century nobleman who lost his lands in Scotland after the defeat of the forces and death of Alexander Og MacDonald, Lord of Islay in 1299. In...
Another 37 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Swain Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Swain World Ranking

In the United States, the name Swain is the 1,029^th most popular surname with an estimated 29,844 people with that name. 1 However, in Newfoundland, Canada, the name Swain is ranked the 751^st most popular surname with an estimated 57 people with that name. 2 And in New Zealand, the name Swain is the 973^rd popular surname with an estimated 769 people with that name. 3 The United Kingdom ranks Swain as 782^nd with 8,674 people. 4

Swain migration to the United States +

A massive amount of Ireland's native population left the island in the 19th century for North America and Australia in hopes of finding more opportunities and an escape from discrimination and oppression. A great portion of these migrants arrived on the eastern shores of the North American continent. Although they were generally poor and destitute, and, therefore, again discriminated against, these Irish people were heartily welcomed for the hard labor involved in the construction of railroads, canals, roadways, and buildings. Many others were put to work in the newly established factories or agricultural projects that were so essential to the development of what would become two of the wealthiest nations in the world. The Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s initiated the largest wave of Iris immigration. Early North American immigration and passenger lists have revealed a number of people bearing the name Swain or a variant listed above:

Swain Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Jeremy Swain, who arrived in Charlestown, Massachusetts in 1638 5
Richard Swain, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1638 5
Francis Swain, who landed in New England in 1645 5
Robert Swain, who landed in New England in 1684 5

Swain Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Swain, who landed in Nantucket, Massachusetts in 1703 5
Eleanor Swain, who arrived in Virginia in 1715 5
William Swain, who landed in America in 1760-1763 5

Swain Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John, Swain, who landed in Mississippi in 1842 5
Charles Swain, who landed in Mississippi in 1842 5
James H Swain, who landed in Mississippi in 1842 5
Isaac Swain, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1850 5
J M Swain, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Swain migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Swain Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

John Swain, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750
Mary Swain, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750
Thomas Swain, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1750

Swain migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Swain Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss Alice Swain, (b. 1766), aged 47, Irish servant who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Catherine" on 8th December 1813, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
John Swain, English convict from Middlesex, who was transported aboard the "Asia" on September 3rd, 1820, settling in New South Wales, Australia 7
Miss Mary Ann Swain who was convicted in Maidstone, Kent, England for 15 years, transported aboard the "Emma Eugenia" on 16th November 1843, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
Mr. Joseph Swain, English convict who was convicted in Bristol, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Equestrian" on 25th January 1844, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Island) 9
Levi Swain, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Hooghly" in 1846 10
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Swain migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Swain Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

James Swain, aged 39, a labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Oliver Lang" in 1856
Lusy Swain, aged 34, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Oliver Lang" in 1856
Amy Swain, aged 16, a domestic servant, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Oliver Lang" in 1856
Henry Swain, aged 20, a labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Oliver Lang" in 1856
Frederick Swain, aged 25, a butcher, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Oliver Lang" in 1856
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Swain migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 11

Swain Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

James Swain, aged 21, who arrived in Jamaica in 1684 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Swain (post 1700) +

Paul Joseph Swain (1943-2022), American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, eighth bishop of the Diocese of Sioux Falls in South Dakota from 2006 to 2019
James Swain (b. 1956), American crime fiction author
Bennie S. Swain (1933-2008), American professional NBA basketball player
Mack Swain (1876-1935), American actor and vaudevillian
David Lowry Swain (1801-1868), American politician, 26th Governor of North Carolina (1832 to 1835)
Brett Andrew Swain (b. 1985), American NFL football wide receiver
Louisa Ann Swain (1801-1880), the first woman to vote in a general election in the United States
Dominique Ariane Swain (b. 1980), American film actress
Charles L. Swain, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Ohio State House of Representatives from Hamilton County; Elected 1897 12
Bruce Swain, American politician, Member of South Dakota State House of Representatives 36th District, 1931-32 12
... (Another 34 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Swain family +

HMS Hood

Mr. Ronald W Swain (b. 1917), English Ordinary Telegraphist serving for the Royal Navy from Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 13
Mr. James F Swain (b. 1919), Welsh Leading Writer serving for the Royal Navy from Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 13

HMS Prince of Wales

Mr. Swain, British Marine, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 14

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
"Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records of Australia (Retreived 2nd January 2021, retreived from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/catherine
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Asia 1 voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1820 with 192 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1820
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 31st March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/emma-eugenia
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 4th May 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/equestrian
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) HOOGHLY 1846. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1846Hooghly.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html