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![Show Contents]() Swynfen History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England
Early Origins of the Swynfen familyThe surname Swynfen was first found in Leicestershire at Swinford, a parish, in the union of Lutterworth, hundred of Guthlaxton 1 where Geoffrey de Swinford was listed in the Pipe Rolls of 1190. While this is the first listing others quickly followed in other shires and counties including: William de Swyneford in the Feet of Fines of Lancashire in 1250 and Roger de Swyneford in the Subsidy Rolls of Warwickshire in 1332. 2 Catherine Swynford (1350?-1403), Duchess of Lancaster was mistress and third wife of John of Gaunt. "Her elder sister, Philippa, is somewhat doubtfully said to have been the wife of Geoffrey Chaucer, the poet, and by him mother of Thomas Chaucer. " 3 As a place name Swinford can be found in the aforementioned Leicestershire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Staffordshire. The latter has had the largest population over the years. Literally the place name means: "pig ford," from the Old English "swin" + "ford." 4 The Leicestershire parish was listed in the Domesday Book as Svineford 5 and the oldest listing was found in Oxfordshire as Swynford in 931; in other words it was a Saxon village before the Conquest. Alternatively, the name could have been derived from the village of Swinfield, now known as Swingfield. Richard de Swinfield or Swynfield (died 1317) was "Bishop of Hereford, [and] took his name from the village of Swinfield, now called Swingfield, five miles north of Folkestone in Kent, where he is generally supposed to have been born. His lifelong interest in Kent, and the large number of Kentish names among his following as bishop of Hereford, attest his abiding attachment to this county. " 3 Early History of the Swynfen familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Swynfen research. Another 101 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1190, 1250, 1612, 1613, 1640, 1645, 1648, 1659 and 1694 are included under the topic Early Swynfen History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Swynfen Spelling VariationsSpelling variations of this family name include: Swinford, Swynford, Swinforde, Swynforte, Swinfort, Swynfort, Swinfen, Swinhoe, Swinhoe, Swinfin and many more. Early Notables of the Swynfen familyOutstanding amongst the family at this time was - John Swynfen, also known as the 'Great Swynfen', was a Presbyterian Member of Parliament for Tamworth (1640-1694), he appears in Samuel Pepys' diary. He was "born in 1612 at Swinfen, near Lichfield, w...
 Swynfen migration to the United States | + |
Some of the first settlers of this family name were: Swynfen Settlers in United States in the 18th Century- Henry Swynfen, who landed in Virginia in 1720 6
| Contemporary Notables of the name Swynfen (post 1700) | + |
- Sir Maurice Swynfen Fitzmaurice CB KCVO CMG (1870-1927), British vice-admiral in the Royal Navy, Director of Naval Intelligence
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
- Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
- Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
- 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)
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Swynfen migration to the United States 
