The distinguished Dutch surname Swanepoel is derived from "Swanepoel," the name of a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is likely that the first bearer of this name was a resident of this village.
The surname Swanepoel was first found in Holland, where the name originated. During the Middle Ages, it was a common practice to refer to a new resident of a village by the name of his hometown; thus, it is possible that the progenitor of the name was a native of the town of Swanepoel who had settled in another region.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Swanepoel research. Another 47 words (3 lines of text) covering the years 1712, 1654 and 1707 are included under the topic Early Swanepoel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Spelling variations of this family name include: Swanepoel, Swanpool, Swaen, Swaenpoel and others.
Another 38 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Swanepoel Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In South Africa, the name Swanepoel is the 117th most popular surname with an estimated 47,201 people with that name. [1]
Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Jan Swaen, who arrived in New Netherlands in 1663; as well as Juliana Swaenepoel, who arrived in America from Belgium, through Ellis Island in 1920.