Show ContentsSwinton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Swinton family

The surname Swinton was first found in Berwickshire, in Scotland, where they held a family seat from very ancient times, they were descended from Edulf of Swinton, living about 1050 A.D. Other early records revealed Alanus de Svint' witnessed a charter by the first earl of Dunbar and Sir Alan de Swynton witnessed a deed of sale of Adam, son of Thurill c. 1240. 1

Early History of the Swinton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Swinton research. Another 169 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1388, 1552, 1621, 1625, 1660, 1674, 1678, 1679, 1682, 1688, 1689, 1700 and 1719 are included under the topic Early Swinton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Swinton Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Swinton, Swintone, Swynton, Swyntone and others.

Early Notables of the Swinton family

Notable amongst the family name during their early history was

  • Sir Alexander Swinton of Swinton; and his first son, John Swinton (1621?-1679), a Scottish politician active during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms; and his second son, Alexander Swinton, Lord Mersingt...

Swinton Ranking

In the United States, the name Swinton is the 6,376th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 2


United States Swinton migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Swinton Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • John Swinton, who arrived in New Jersey in 1685 3
Swinton Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Charles Swinton, who landed in Maryland in 1714 3
Swinton Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Peter Swinton, who arrived in New York in 1840 3

Australia Swinton migration to Australia +

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

Swinton Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Anthony Swinton, English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Fanny" on 25th August 1815, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 4
  • Margaret Swinton, aged 29, a servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Agincourt"

New Zealand Swinton 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:

Swinton Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Thomas Swinton, (b. 1837), aged 33, English millwright, from Lancashire travelling from London aboard the ship "Ramsey" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 17th June 1870 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Swinton (post 1700) +

  • Katherine Mathilda "Tilda" Swinton (b. 1960), Academy Award-winning and British Academy Film Award-winning, British actress 6
  • John Swinton (1829-1901), Scottish born, Canadian-American journalist
  • John Swinton (1703-1777), English historian and antiquary, born in Cheshire, son of John Swinton of Bexton, Cheshire
  • John Swinton (d. 1799), Lord Swinton, Scottish judge, son of John Swinton of Swinton, Berwickshire
  • James Rannie Swinton (1816-1888), Scottish portrait-painter, younger son of John Campbell Swinton of Kimmerghame, Berwickshire, and Catherine Rannie, his wife, and grandson of Archibald, fourth son of John Swinton of Swinton, Berwickshire
  • Major-General Sir John Swinton KCVO, OBE, DL (1925-2018), Commander of the Household Division and General Officer Commanding London District (1976-1979) 7
  • Tilda Swinton (b. 1960), Scottish Academy Award-winning actress
  • Major General Sir Ernest Dunlop Swinton (1868-1951), British Army officer and writer
  • George Swinton Legaré (1869-1913), American politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina (1903-1913)
  • Swinton Boult (1809-1876), English Secretary and Director of the Liverpool, London, and Globe Insurance Company 8

Empress of Ireland
  • Mr. Alexander Swinton (d. 1914), "John Black" British Chief Baker from United Kingdom who worked aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking 9


  1. 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)
  2. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  3. 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)
  4. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th September 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/fairlie
  5. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  6. Katherine Swinton. (Retrieved 2010, September 27) Katherine Swinton. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilda_Swinton
  7. John Swinton. (Retrieved 2011, January 24) John Swinton. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Swinton_%28British_Army_officer%29
  8. Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 5 Feb. 2019
  9. Commemoration Empress of Ireland 2014. (Retrieved 2014, June 17) . Retrieved from http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/listepsc1.html


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