NameCensus.

UK surname

Swinney

Derived from a place name meaning "swine island" or from an Old English byname meaning "swineherd."

In the 1881 census there were 325 people recorded with the Swinney surname, ranking it #9,194 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 678, ranked #7,909, up from #9,194 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Sunderland, Gateshead and St Pancras. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Northumberland and South Tyneside.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Swinney is 704 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 108.6%.

1881 census count

325

Ranked #9,194

Modern count

678

2016, ranked #7,909

Peak year

2010

704 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Swinney had 325 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #9,194 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 678 in 2016, ranked #7,909.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 535 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Young Families in Industrial Towns.

Swinney surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Swinney surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Swinney 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 220 #9,671
1861 historical 218 #11,175
1881 historical 325 #9,194
1891 historical 423 #8,465
1901 historical 535 #7,671
1911 historical 530 #7,500
1997 modern 673 #7,465
1998 modern 682 #7,628
1999 modern 682 #7,669
2000 modern 687 #7,597
2001 modern 664 #7,668
2002 modern 675 #7,730
2003 modern 665 #7,693
2004 modern 661 #7,739
2005 modern 659 #7,694
2006 modern 654 #7,766
2007 modern 661 #7,764
2008 modern 673 #7,701
2009 modern 698 #7,654
2010 modern 704 #7,746
2011 modern 691 #7,762
2012 modern 681 #7,786
2013 modern 684 #7,881
2014 modern 689 #7,875
2015 modern 684 #7,863
2016 modern 678 #7,909

Geography

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Where Swinneys are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Sunderland, Gateshead, St Pancras, Tynemouth (Chirton, Preston, Murton, Whitley, Monkseaton), Earsdon (Earsdon) and Morpeth. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Northumberland and South Tyneside. 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 Sunderland Durham
2 Gateshead Durham
3 St Pancras London (North Districts)
4 Tynemouth (Chirton, Preston, Murton, Whitley, Monkseaton), Earsdon (Earsdon) Northumberland
5 Morpeth Northumberland

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Northumberland 001 Northumberland
2 Northumberland 012 Northumberland
3 Northumberland 021 Northumberland
4 Northumberland 002 Northumberland
5 South Tyneside 017 South Tyneside

Forenames

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First names often paired with Swinney

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Swinney

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Swinney, 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

Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce

Group

Young Families in Industrial Towns

Nationally, the Swinney surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Young Families in Industrial Towns, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Swinney 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 predominantly young, UK-born individuals identifying with a White ethnic group with dependent children. Long-term disability and unpaid care are prevalent, and religious affiliations are uncommon. Housing is terraced or semi-detached and social rented sector housing is the norm. Unemployment is above the Supergroup average, and employment is principally in elementary occupations, as process plant and machine operatives, or in caring and leisure services. Educational attainment is low. The group is scattered throughout former industrial towns in the Midlands and the South Wales Valleys.

Wider pattern

Living in terraced or semi-detached houses, residents of these neighbourhoods typically lack high levels of education and work in elementary or routine service occupations. Unemployment is above average. Residents are predominantly born in the UK, and residents are also predominantly from ethnic minorities. Social (but not private sector) rented sector housing is common. This Supergroup is found throughout the UK’s conurbations and industrial regions but is also an integral part of smaller towns.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Swinney 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

Swinney is most concentrated in decile 1 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy 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.

1
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Swinney falls in decile 4 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

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

4
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Swinney is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 25-30 mbit/s.

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

5
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

Meaning and origin of Swinney

The surname SWINNEY is an English toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "swine pasture" or "pig meadow". It originates from the Old English words "swin" meaning swine or pig, and "ey" meaning an island or meadow. The earliest recorded spelling of the name is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Swinei".

The name is believed to have originated in the county of Northamptonshire, where there are several places that may have given rise to the surname, such as Swinford, Swinnerton, and Swinstead. These place names all share the same root words as the surname SWINNEY.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the surname was John Swinney, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1202. Another early record is that of William Swinney, who was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327.

In the 16th century, the surname appears to have been particularly concentrated in the counties of Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, and Staffordshire. Notable bearers from this period include Richard Swinney, who was born in Warwickshire in 1542, and Thomas Swinney, a merchant from Staffordshire who was born in 1578.

During the 17th century, the name began to spread more widely across England. One prominent individual was Sir John Swinney, a member of Parliament for the borough of Southwark, who was born in 1625 and died in 1697.

In the 18th century, a branch of the Swinney family established themselves in Scotland, where the name was sometimes spelled as "Swinnie". One notable Scottish bearer was Alexander Swinnie, a philosopher and professor at the University of Aberdeen, who was born in 1735 and died in 1803.

Other notable individuals with the surname SWINNEY throughout history include William Swinney, an English soldier who fought in the Napoleonic Wars and was awarded the Waterloo Medal, born in 1793; and George Swinney, a British explorer and naturalist who traveled extensively in South America in the late 19th century, born in 1859 and died in 1912.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Swinney families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Swinney 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. Durham leads with 118 Swinneys recorded in 1881 and an index of 12.43x.

County Total Index
Durham 118 12.43x
Northumberland 117 24.65x
Middlesex 32 1.00x
Cheshire 12 1.70x
Yorkshire 12 0.38x
Flintshire 7 8.16x
Oxfordshire 6 3.05x
Devon 5 0.75x
Aberdeenshire 3 1.02x
Lancashire 3 0.08x
Surrey 3 0.19x
Carmarthenshire 2 1.49x
Fife 1 0.53x
Hampshire 1 0.15x
Isle of Man 1 1.69x
Lanarkshire 1 0.10x
Royal Navy 1 2.63x
Staffordshire 1 0.09x
Wigtownshire 1 2.36x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Tweedmouth in Northumberland leads with 58 Swinneys recorded in 1881 and an index of 979.73x.

Place Total Index
Tweedmouth 58 979.73x
Bishopwearmouth 35 42.97x
Bournmoor 22 1476.51x
Morpeth 20 358.42x
Great Lumley 13 802.47x
Sunderland 13 77.57x
Monks Coppenhall 11 41.40x
Hendon 10 87.11x
Seaton Delaval 9 215.83x
Winlaton 9 98.90x
Tottenham 8 15.75x
Clerkenwell London 7 9.30x
Hedworth Monkton Jarrow 7 17.03x
Mold 7 89.97x
North Shields 6 63.36x
Rotherfield Greys 6 287.08x
Elswick 5 13.20x
Heworth 5 26.74x
Plymouth St Andrew 5 9.78x
Sculcoates 5 9.98x
St Pancras London 5 1.95x
Witton Gilbert 5 133.33x
Gateshead 4 5.63x
Scarborough 4 13.93x
Seghill 4 171.67x
Tynemouth 4 15.74x
Aberdeen St Nicholas 3 5.43x
Morpeth Castle 3 1200.00x
Wavertree 3 24.75x
Bedlington 2 12.62x
Byker 2 8.53x
Great Driffield 2 30.82x
Llanelly 2 6.61x
Ouston 2 144.93x
St Luke London 2 3.91x
Banstead 1 23.75x
Berwick Upon Tweed 1 9.94x
Chester St John Baptist 1 7.90x
German Peel 1 29.33x
Govan 1 0.39x
Holmside 1 42.74x
Holy Trinity 1 1.32x
Jesmond 1 14.97x
Kinghorn 1 24.94x
Kingston On Thames 1 2.68x
Kirkinner 1 57.14x
Leatherhead 1 25.71x
Monk Hesleden 1 37.88x
Portsmouth 1 6.64x
Royal Navy 1 3.08x
Westgate 1 3.40x
Westoe 1 1.86x
Whitley 1 65.36x
Wolverhampton 1 1.21x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 26
Elizabeth 17
Jane 17
Ann 10
Margaret 9
Alice 5
Ellen 5
Isabella 5
Janet 4
Sarah 4
Charlotte 3
Hannah 3
Martha 3
Bridget 2
Catherine 2
Eliza 2
Grace 2
Agnes 1
Annie 1
Barbara 1
Betsey 1
Betsy 1
Dora 1
Dorthoy 1
Eleanor 1
Eliz. 1
Elizth. 1
Ellenor 1
Emily 1
Emma 1
Fanny 1
Flora 1
Frances 1
Francis 1
Harriet 1
Hellen 1
Jessie 1
Kate 1
Louisa 1
Margary 1
Margery 1
Margt. 1
Maria 1
Rebaca 1
Rhoda 1
Roseanna 1
Sussanna 1
Teresa 1
Williamson 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 34
Thomas 29
William 20
James 11
George 9
Robert 9
Edward 6
Alfred 5
Charles 4
Frederick 4
Richard 4
Henry 3
Joseph 3
Patrick 3
Alexander 2
Peter 2
Thos. 2
Adam 1
Andrew 1
Arthur 1
Bertram 1
Charels 1
Chas.W. 1
Daniel 1
Dixon 1
Edwin 1
Eneas 1
Ernest 1
Francis 1
Jno.F. 1
Lionel 1
Michael 1
Nickolas 1
Paterick 1
Robinson 1
Simon 1
Walter 1

FAQ

Swinney surname: questions and answers

How common was the Swinney surname in 1881?

In 1881, 325 people were recorded with the Swinney surname. That placed it at #9,194 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Swinney surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 678 in 2016. That gives Swinney a modern rank of #7,909.

What does the Swinney surname mean?

Derived from a place name meaning "swine island" or from an Old English byname meaning "swineherd."

What does the Swinney map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Swinney 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.