UK surname
An Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Suánaigh, meaning "descendant of Suánaigh."
In the 1881 census there were 177 people recorded with the Sweney surname, ranking it #13,889 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 8, ranked #37,829, down from #13,889 in 1881.
The strongest historical links point to St Peter, London parishes and Liverpool. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include No data.
Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Sweney is 275 in 1861. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 95.5%.
1881 census count
177
Ranked #13,889
Modern count
8
2016, ranked #37,829
Peak year
1861
275 bearers
Map years
3
1851 to 1881
Key insights
Map
Back to topThe map shows where the Sweney surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.
Distribution map
Sweney surname density by area, 1881 census.
Timeline
Back to topThe 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 | 173 | #11,629 |
| 1861 | historical | 275 | #9,082 |
| 1881 | historical | 177 | #13,889 |
| 1891 | historical | 97 | #24,447 |
| 1901 | historical | 86 | #24,508 |
| 1911 | historical | 30 | #30,073 |
| 1997 | modern | 4 | #38,094 |
| 1998 | modern | 7 | #37,533 |
| 1999 | modern | 7 | #37,513 |
| 2000 | modern | 4 | #38,004 |
| 2001 | modern | 5 | #37,652 |
| 2002 | modern | 3 | #38,152 |
| 2003 | modern | 1 | #38,735 |
| 2004 | modern | 4 | #38,013 |
| 2005 | modern | 4 | #38,078 |
| 2006 | modern | 6 | #37,788 |
| 2007 | modern | 5 | #38,004 |
| 2008 | modern | 7 | #37,735 |
| 2009 | modern | 8 | #37,689 |
| 2010 | modern | 10 | #37,517 |
| 2011 | modern | 8 | #37,737 |
| 2012 | modern | 7 | #37,854 |
| 2013 | modern | 7 | #37,909 |
| 2014 | modern | 8 | #37,806 |
| 2015 | modern | 8 | #37,797 |
| 2016 | modern | 8 | #37,829 |
Geography
Back to topHistorical parish links are strongest around St Peter, London parishes, Liverpool, Glasgow and Sheffield. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.
The modern local-area list points to No data. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.
| Rank | Parish | Area |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | St Peter | Derbyshire |
| 2 | London parishes | London 3 |
| 3 | Liverpool | Lancashire |
| 4 | Glasgow | Lanark |
| 5 | Sheffield | Yorkshire, West Riding |
| Rank | Area | District |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | No data | No data |
Forenames
Back to topThese lists show first names that appear often with the Sweney surname in historical and recent records.
Recent female names
Recent male names
Modern profile
Back to topModern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Sweney, 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
Supergroup
No data
Group
No data
Nationally, the Sweney surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as No data, within No data. This does not mean every Sweney household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.
London neighbourhood type
Supergroup
No data
Group
No data
Within London, Sweney is most associated with areas classed as No data, part of No data. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.
Broadband speed
The modern neighbourhood pattern for Sweney is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of No data.
Area snapshot
This describes the area pattern most associated with Sweney, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.
Origin
Back to topThe surname Sweney is of Anglo-Saxon origin, deriving from the Old English words 'swæn' meaning herdsman and 'ey' meaning island or dry ground. It is thought to have originated in the region of East Anglia, England in the 8th or 9th century.
The earliest recorded spelling of the name appears as 'Sweyn' in the Domesday Book of 1086, a manuscript record of landholders across England and Wales. This particular entry refers to a landowner in the county of Norfolk.
Over the centuries, the name has undergone various spelling variations including Swayney, Swenye, Sweynie and Sweny before settling into the modern form of Sweney. Some of these older variants can be traced back to tax rolls and parish records from the 13th to 16th centuries in areas like Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire.
A notable early bearer of the name was John Sweyn (c.1340-1399), a wealthy merchant and alderman who served as Mayor of Norwich in 1373. Records also show a Thomas Sweny was admitted to the Company of Merchant Taylors in London in 1492.
During the 16th century, the Sweney surname began appearing in parts of Scotland and Ireland, likely due to migration from England. One of the first recorded instances was Robert Sweynie, born around 1530 in Stirlingshire, Scotland.
In the 17th century, Captain Phillip Sweeny (1604-1677) was an English military officer who fought for the Parliamentarian forces during the English Civil War. He later served as Governor of St. Helena from 1659 to 1668.
Another prominent figure was Sir Robert Sweney (1644-1721), an Anglo-Irish lawyer and politician who served as Lord Mayor of Dublin from 1707 to 1708. He played a key role in defending the Protestant community during the Williamite War in Ireland.
The surname spread further afield in the 18th and 19th centuries as people bearing the name emigrated to British colonies like Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Matthew Sweney (1770-1844) was an early settler in Ontario, Canada arriving from Ireland in the late 1700s.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
1881 census detail
Back to topThese tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Sweney surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.
Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Kent leads with 18 Sweneys recorded in 1881 and an index of 3.26x.
| County | Total | Index |
|---|---|---|
| Kent | 18 | 3.26x |
| Yorkshire | 18 | 1.12x |
| Middlesex | 17 | 1.05x |
| Derbyshire | 12 | 4.73x |
| Lanarkshire | 12 | 2.29x |
| Glamorgan | 10 | 3.55x |
| Surrey | 10 | 1.27x |
| Lancashire | 9 | 0.47x |
| Renfrewshire | 9 | 7.17x |
| Gloucestershire | 8 | 2.52x |
| Monmouthshire | 7 | 5.98x |
| Dunbartonshire | 6 | 13.79x |
| Northumberland | 4 | 1.66x |
| Warwickshire | 4 | 0.98x |
| Angus | 3 | 2.00x |
| Westmorland | 3 | 8.43x |
| Cheshire | 2 | 0.56x |
| Durham | 2 | 0.42x |
| Nottinghamshire | 2 | 0.92x |
| Staffordshire | 2 | 0.37x |
| Berkshire | 1 | 0.82x |
| Herefordshire | 1 | 1.51x |
| Midlothian | 1 | 0.46x |
| Northamptonshire | 1 | 0.66x |
| Oxfordshire | 1 | 1.00x |
| Sussex | 1 | 0.37x |
| West Lothian | 1 | 4.10x |
| Wigtownshire | 1 | 4.65x |
Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Wilmington in Kent leads with 12 Sweneys recorded in 1881 and an index of 1558.44x.
These are the female first names most often recorded with the Sweney surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.
| Name | Count |
|---|---|
| Mary | 9 |
| Sarah | 6 |
| Ann | 5 |
| Catherine | 4 |
| Ellen | 4 |
| Agnes | 3 |
| Hannah | 3 |
| Kate | 3 |
| Margaret | 3 |
| Charlotte | 2 |
| Elizabeth | 2 |
| Jane | 2 |
| Agness | 1 |
| Anna | 1 |
| Anne | 1 |
| Annie | 1 |
| Augusta | 1 |
| Bridget | 1 |
| Bridgett | 1 |
| Caroline | 1 |
| Cathr. | 1 |
| Elleanor | 1 |
| Ellin | 1 |
| Emily | 1 |
| Esther | 1 |
| Fanny | 1 |
| Florence | 1 |
| Isabella | 1 |
| Johanh | 1 |
| Julia | 1 |
| M. | 1 |
| Maggie | 1 |
| Margret | 1 |
| Martha | 1 |
| Minnie | 1 |
| Norah | 1 |
| Rose | 1 |
| Teresa | 1 |
| Theresa | 1 |
These are the male first names most often recorded with the Sweney surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.
Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Sweney households.
FAQ
In 1881, 177 people were recorded with the Sweney surname. That placed it at #13,889 in the surname rankings for that year.
The latest modern count shown here is 8 in 2016. That gives Sweney a modern rank of #37,829.
An Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Suánaigh, meaning "descendant of Suánaigh."
The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Sweney bearers relative to the surrounding population.
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.