NameCensus.

UK surname

Swaffer

A habitational surname referring to someone from or living near a swampy area.

In the 1881 census there were 176 people recorded with the Swaffer surname, ranking it #13,930 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 207, ranked #19,118, down from #13,930 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Graveney, Boughton-under-Blean, Hastings St Mary-in-the-Castle, Hastings St Andrew and Ashford. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Wealden, Maidstone and Dover.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Swaffer is 250 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 17.6%.

1881 census count

176

Ranked #13,930

Modern count

207

2016, ranked #19,118

Peak year

1911

250 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Swaffer had 176 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #13,930 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 207 in 2016, ranked #19,118.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 250 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Multicultural Inner Suburbs.

Swaffer surname distribution map

The map shows where the Swaffer surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Swaffer surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Swaffer over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 107 #16,402
1861 historical 147 #15,539
1881 historical 176 #13,930
1891 historical 209 #14,459
1901 historical 234 #13,705
1911 historical 250 #12,918
1997 modern 233 #15,975
1998 modern 236 #16,304
1999 modern 234 #16,506
2000 modern 239 #16,239
2001 modern 232 #16,314
2002 modern 234 #16,543
2003 modern 228 #16,663
2004 modern 224 #16,918
2005 modern 199 #18,198
2006 modern 198 #18,425
2007 modern 207 #18,080
2008 modern 205 #18,359
2009 modern 210 #18,426
2010 modern 208 #18,956
2011 modern 216 #18,321
2012 modern 212 #18,481
2013 modern 211 #18,872
2014 modern 216 #18,705
2015 modern 211 #18,906
2016 modern 207 #19,118

Geography

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Where Swaffers are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Graveney, Boughton-under-Blean, Hastings St Mary-in-the-Castle, Hastings St Andrew, Ashford, Chart, Great and Mersham. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Wealden, Maidstone, Dover, Rother and Ashford. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Graveney, Boughton-under-Blean Kent
2 Hastings St Mary-in-the-Castle, Hastings St Andrew Sussex
3 Ashford Kent
4 Chart, Great Kent
5 Mersham Kent

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Wealden 005 Wealden
2 Maidstone 004 Maidstone
3 Dover 014 Dover
4 Rother 006 Rother
5 Ashford 005 Ashford

Forenames

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First names often paired with Swaffer

These lists show first names that appear often with the Swaffer surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Swaffer

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Swaffer, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Baseline UK

Group

Multicultural Inner Suburbs

Nationally, the Swaffer surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Multicultural Inner Suburbs, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Swaffer household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These neighbourhoods house many younger and middle-aged adults with children. All ethnic minorities, apart from those identifying as Pakistani or Bangladeshi, appear to be present in above average proportions. Affiliation to Christian religions is uncommon. Long-term disability rates are low, mirrored in limited provision of unpaid care. Privately rented terrace houses and flats are the norm. Managerial, professional and technical occupations are prevalent, and work is rarely part time. Many individuals have degree level qualifications. These areas form the inner suburbs of many of the UK’s towns and cities.

Wider pattern

This Supergroup exemplifies the broad base to the UK’s social structure, encompassing as it does the average or modal levels of many neighbourhood characteristics, including all housing tenures, a range of levels of educational attainment and religious affiliations, and a variety of pre-retirement age structures. Yet, in combination, these mixes are each distinctive of the parts of the UK. Overall, terraced houses and flats are the most prevalent, as is employment in intermediate or low-skilled occupations. However, this Supergroup is also characterised by above average levels of unemployment and lower levels of use of English as the main language. Many neighbourhoods occur in south London and the UK’s other major urban centres.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Swaffer is most associated with areas classed as Inner London Working Professionals, part of Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These primarily Inner London neighbourhoods are more densely populated than the Supergroup average. Residents have a younger over-all age profile than the Supergroup as a whole, and are less likely to be owner occupiers. Full time employment is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup and multiple car ownership is uncommon. Chinese and non-EU-born European migrants are less in evidence than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

These neighbourhoods house people of all ages, predominantly of White British or European extraction. Resident turnover is low. Religious affiliation is less common than average and tends to be Christian if expressed. Homeownership, typically of terraced houses, is common but use of the social rented sector is not. Employment is typically in professional, managerial and associate professional or technical occupations. There are few full-time students. Level 4 qualifications are common. More households lack dependent children than have them which, considered alongside low levels of crowding and over-all age structure, indicates that many households may be post child-rearing and in late middle age. Incidence of disability is low, as is residence in communal establishments.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Swaffer is most concentrated in decile 9 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

9
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Swaffer falls in decile 9 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

9
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Swaffer is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Swaffer, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Swaffer

The surname Swaffer is of English origin, originating in the counties of Warwickshire and Staffordshire during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English words "swæf" meaning sleep or drowsiness, and "er" denoting a person or agent. Thus, the name likely referred to someone who was prone to sleeping or lethargy.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Swaffer can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Warwickshire from the year 1332, where a John Swaffere was listed. The name also appeared in the Staffordshire Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1327, with the spelling "Swaffare".

In the 16th century, the Swaffer surname appeared in various parish records and church registers across Warwickshire and Staffordshire. For example, a Robert Swaffer was documented in the Parish Registers of Solihull, Warwickshire, in 1564.

The name Swaffer is believed to have been derived from the place name "Swaffham" in Norfolk, which itself comes from the Old English words "swæf" and "ham" meaning homestead or village. This connection suggests that some early bearers of the Swaffer surname may have hailed from or had associations with the town of Swaffham.

Notable individuals with the surname Swaffer throughout history include:

1. Hannen Swaffer (1879-1962), a British journalist and drama critic who worked for several prominent publications, including The Daily Express and The People.

2. Sir Walter Swaffer (1896-1964), a British actor and writer, best known for his roles in films such as "The Private Life of Henry VIII" and "The Prince and the Showgirl".

3. Elizabeth Swaffer (1768-1846), an English poet and writer who published several works, including "The Poetical Remains of Elizabeth Swaffer" in 1823.

4. Thomas Swaffer (1786-1856), an English clergyman and author who served as the Rector of Shottesbrooke, Berkshire, and wrote several religious texts.

5. John Swaffer (1656-1724), a notable English silversmith and engraver who worked in London during the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

While the Swaffer surname may have originated from a specific region in England, it has since spread to various parts of the world due to migration and the diaspora of English settlers.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Swaffer families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Swaffer surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Kent leads with 150 Swaffers recorded in 1881 and an index of 25.61x.

County Total Index
Kent 150 25.61x
Middlesex 15 0.87x
Sussex 5 1.73x
Hampshire 4 1.14x
Surrey 2 0.24x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Ashford in Kent leads with 31 Swaffers recorded in 1881 and an index of 543.86x.

Place Total Index
Ashford 31 543.86x
Kingsnorth 20 5555.56x
Boughton Under Blean 15 1530.61x
High Halden 11 2972.97x
Islington London 8 4.81x
Lydd 8 640.00x
Pluckley 7 1296.30x
Bilsington 6 2727.27x
Brabourne 6 1363.64x
Westwell 6 1016.95x
Mile End Old Town 4 14.76x
Newington In Milton 4 655.74x
Willesborough 4 254.78x
Faversham 3 53.67x
Gravesend 3 60.48x
Harrietsham 3 750.00x
Mersham 3 714.29x
Portsea 3 4.35x
Camberwell 2 1.82x
Dunkirk 2 454.55x
Folkestone 2 17.61x
Hastings Holy Trinity 2 93.90x
Patcham 2 384.62x
Upper Hardres 2 1176.47x
Battle 1 51.28x
Bethersden 1 166.67x
Brenenden 1 133.33x
Charing 1 126.58x
Charlton 1 25.71x
Fawley 1 89.29x
Frinstead 1 833.33x
Gillingham 1 8.28x
Great Chart 1 227.27x
Maidstone 1 5.73x
New Romney 1 166.67x
Newington In Elham 1 303.03x
Sevington 1 1428.57x
St Ann Blackfriars 1 416.67x
St Paul Covent Garden 1 58.14x
Sutton Valence 1 149.25x
Tenterden 1 48.31x
Willesden 1 6.18x
Woodchurch 1 136.99x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Swaffer surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Elizabeth 10
Sarah 5
Alice 4
Harriet 4
Jemima 4
Kate 4
Louisa 4
Mary 4
Annie 3
Eliza 3
Ellen 3
Emily 3
Emma 3
Jane 3
Caroline 2
Catherine 2
Fanny 2
Harriett 2
Mabel 2
Adelaide 1
Amy 1
Ann 1
Anne 1
Deborah 1
Dinah 1
Dymphna 1
Eleanor 1
Eliz. 1
Ethelinde 1
Gertrude 1
Hannah 1
Helen 1
Henrietta 1
Hettie 1
Isabella 1
Katherine 1
Laura 1
Leah 1
Lilly 1
Loui 1
Lucy 1
Martha 1
May 1
Minnie 1
Rosa 1
Rose 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Swaffer surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
John 11
Henry 8
George 7
William 6
Alfred 5
Daniel 5
Edward 4
Thomas 4
Albert 3
Frank 3
James 3
Charles 2
Walter 2
Author 1
Authur 1
David 1
Dee 1
Edwin 1
Ernest 1
Frederick 1
Fredk. 1
Fredk.C. 1
Harry 1
Herbert 1
Horace 1
Joseph 1
Major 1
Percy 1
Russell 1
Samuel 1
Thoms. 1
Thos. 1

FAQ

Swaffer surname: questions and answers

How common was the Swaffer surname in 1881?

In 1881, 176 people were recorded with the Swaffer surname. That placed it at #13,930 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Swaffer surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 207 in 2016. That gives Swaffer a modern rank of #19,118.

What does the Swaffer surname mean?

A habitational surname referring to someone from or living near a swampy area.

What does the Swaffer map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Swaffer bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.