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Show ContentsSword History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
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Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

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The Sword surname in Scotland has two distinct origins. In some instances it is an old occupational name for an armorer, derived from the Old English word "sword," while other occurrences of the name are from derivations from the personal name Siward.

Early Origins of the Sword family

The surname Sword was first found in the ancient Pictish lands where they were anciently found in their territories. Sword was the name of the victor over MacBeth at the battle of Dunsinnan in 1054. A Robert Suerd is on record in the Pipe Rolls of Berkshire in 1185. Other early records show a John Swerde, who was given conduct from Scotland into England in 1398; he was the Master of a ship "Archibald," and was made Earl of Douglas in 1405. Malcolm Sword was on record in Stirling in 1628; a Patrick Sword was treasurer there in 1631, and burgess in 1646.

Early History of the Sword family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Sword research. Another 70 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1745 and 1870 are included under the topic Early Sword History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sword Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Sword, Swerd, Suerd, Sourd, Suorde and others.

Early Notables of the Sword family

Notable amongst the Clan at this time was

  • the Sword family of Stirling

Sword Ranking

In the United States, the name Sword is the 10,554th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1

United States Sword migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Sword Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • James Sword, who arrived in Virginia in 1713 2
  • Humphrey Sword, who landed in Maryland in 1716 2
Sword Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Jane A Sword, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1849 2
  • David R Sword, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1874 2

Australia Sword migration to Australia +

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

Sword Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Thomas Sword, English convict who was convicted in Ripon, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Elphinstone" on 27th May 1837, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Sword (post 1700) +

  • Eileen Sword, American actress, known for When the Bullet Hits the Bone (1996), Lethal Tender (1997) and 5 Dysfunctional People in a Car (2009)
  • Roger Sword (1933-2010), American two-time Primetime Emmy Award nominated sound engineer, known for his work on The Blues Brothers (1980), Empire of the Sun (1987) and Romancing the Stone (1984)
  • John Sword (b. 1989), American producer and actor
  • Sam Lee-Arthur Sword (b. 1974), former American NFL football player who played from 1999 to 2002
  • Tom Sword, English actor, known for his work on The Escape (2011), He Who Dares (2014) and SafeHouse
  • Tommy Sword (b. 1957), British former professional football defender for Stockport County, inducted into the Stockport County Hall of Fame
  • Thomas Sword Good (1789-1872), English painter, born at Berwick-upon-Tweed, 4 Dec. 1789 4

The Sword Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Paratus
Motto Translation: Prepared.
  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. 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)
  3. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 18th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elphinstone
  4. Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 30 June 2020
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