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Swanson History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Swanson History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Sweden
Scotland

Early Origins of the Swanson family

The surname Swanson was first found in Durham where they were Lords of the manor of Stockton from early times. But by the year 1221 they had moved north into Scotland and acquired the lands of Swaynystoun, near Colinton, in Midlothian, where Duncan Swainston was the scion of that branch. 1

Swainston Manor lies 1 mile (1.6 km) to the east of Calbourne on the Isle of Wight. It was originally a manor house but has now been converted to a hotel. It has a 12th-century chapel on its 32 acres thought to have been built by the Bishops of Winchester.

Early History of the Swanson family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Swanson research. Another 98 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1605, 1660 and 1661 are included under the topic Early Swanson History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Swanson Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Swainson, Swanston, Swenson, Swenston, Swainston, Swanson and many more.

Early Notables of the Swanson family

Notable amongst the family name during their early history was Dr. Alan Swainston of York; and Francis Swanton (c 1605-1661) of Wincanton, Somerset, an English lawyer and politician...
Another 28 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Swanson Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Swanson Ranking

In the United States, the name Swanson is the 383^rd most popular surname with an estimated 72,123 people with that name. 2

Swanson migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Swanson Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Johan Swanson, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1627 3
Anna Swanson who arrived in Salem, Massachusetts in 1630 as part of the Winthrop Fleet
Robert Swanson, who arrived in Virginia in 1649 3
James Swanson, who arrived in Maryland in 1665 3
John Swanson, who arrived in Maryland in 1674 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Swanson Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Thomas Swanson, who settled in Maryland in 1733
Nicholas Swanson, who settled in Pennsylvania in 1771

Swanson Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Daniel Swanson, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1824 3
James Swanson, who arrived in New York in 1832 3
James Swanson, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1840 3
John M Swanson, who landed in Tippecanoe County, Ind in 1849 3
Albert Swanson, who landed in Texas in 1850-1906 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Swanson Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

H Swanson, who landed in Arkansas in 1903 3
Nils August Swanson, who landed in Pensacola, Fl in 1904 3
Swan Victor Swanson, who landed in Wisconsin in 1911 3
August Swanson, who landed in Wisconsin in 1920 3

Swanson migration to Australia +

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

Swanson Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

William Swanson, aged 23, who arrived in South Australia in 1854 aboard the ship "Marion" 4
Janet Swanson, aged 30, a servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1854 aboard the ship "Dirigo" 5

Swanson 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:

Swanson Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

J Swanson, who landed in Auckland, New Zealand in 1841
William Swanson, who landed in Auckland, New Zealand in 1845
Mr. James Swanson, (b. 1836), aged 29, British farm labourer travelling from London aboard the ship "Eastern Empire" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 4th January 1865 6
Robert Swanson, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Argyleshire" in 1870
Mr. Swanson, Scottish settler travelling from Glasgow aboard the ship "James Nicol Fleming" arriving in Port Chalmers, Otago, New Zealand on 1st July 1873 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Swanson (post 1700) +

John August Swanson (1938-2021), American visual artist who worked primarily in the medium of serigraphy, as well as oil, watercolor, acrylic, mixed media, lithography, and etching
Norman Paul "Norm" Swanson (1930-2016), American professional basketball player
Charles Edward Swanson (1879-1970), American politician in Iowa, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa's 9th congressional district (1929 – 1933)
Carl A. Swanson (1879-1949), Swedish-born, American founder of the national food production company, Swanson
Kristen Noel "Kristy" Swanson (b. 1969), American Young Actress Award winning actress, best known for playing Buffy Summers in the film Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)
Gloria Swanson (1897-1983), Academy Award-nominated, Golden Globe-winning American actress, best known for her role as Norma Desmond in the acclaimed film Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Robert A. Swanson (1947-1999), American venture capitalist, Genentech founder
Steven R. Swanson (b. 1960), American astronaut with 336 hours in space 7
Claude Augustus Swanson (1862-1939), American lawyer, eponym of the USS Swanson (DD-443)
Howard Swanson (1907-1978), American composer
... (Another 76 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Swanson family +

Empress of Ireland

Mr. Martin Swanson (1881-1914), Swedish Third Class Passenger from Malmö, Sweden who survived the sinking on the Empress of Ireland 8
Mr. Amandus Swanson (1870-1914), Finnish Third Class Passenger from Helsingfors, (Helsinki), Finland who survived the sinking on the Empress of Ireland 8

Citations +

Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
South Australian Register Tuesday 12th December 1854. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Marion 1854. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/marion1854.shtml
South Australian Register Thursday 23rd November 1854. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Dirigo 1854. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/dirigo1854.shtml
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
NASA Astronauts Homepage. (Retrieved 2010, September 27) Steven Swanson. Retrieved from http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/swanson.html
Commemoration Empress of Ireland 2014. (Retrieved 2014, June 17) . Retrieved from http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/listepsc1.html