NameCensus.

UK surname

Sword

An occupational surname referring to a soldier, swordsman, or one who makes or sells swords.

In the 1881 census there were 596 people recorded with the Sword surname, ranking it #5,868 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 902, ranked #6,292, down from #5,868 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to New Monkland, Newcastle All Saints and Methven. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Berwickshire East, Law and Gretna.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Sword is 902 in 2016. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 51.3%.

1881 census count

596

Ranked #5,868

Modern count

902

2016, ranked #6,292

Peak year

2016

902 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Sword had 596 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #5,868 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 902 in 2016, ranked #6,292.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 706 in 1891.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Sword surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Sword surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

Back to top

Sword 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 481 #5,186
1861 historical 462 #5,621
1881 historical 596 #5,868
1891 historical 706 #5,561
1901 historical 704 #6,257
1911 historical 364 #9,985
1997 modern 810 #6,472
1998 modern 830 #6,561
1999 modern 819 #6,671
2000 modern 842 #6,510
2001 modern 810 #6,585
2002 modern 834 #6,555
2003 modern 810 #6,591
2004 modern 799 #6,680
2005 modern 790 #6,666
2006 modern 790 #6,701
2007 modern 813 #6,597
2008 modern 804 #6,716
2009 modern 841 #6,615
2010 modern 874 #6,549
2011 modern 855 #6,580
2012 modern 853 #6,513
2013 modern 882 #6,445
2014 modern 898 #6,382
2015 modern 895 #6,351
2016 modern 902 #6,292

Geography

Back to top

Where Swords are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around New Monkland, Newcastle All Saints, Methven, Edinburgh and Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Berwickshire East, Law, Gretna, Perth Road and St Edmundsbury. 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 New Monkland Lanark
2 Newcastle All Saints Northumberland
3 Methven Perth
4 Edinburgh Edinburgh
5 Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry Forfar

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Berwickshire East Scottish Borders
2 Law Dundee City
3 Gretna Dumfries and Galloway
4 Perth Road Dundee City
5 St Edmundsbury 001 St Edmundsbury

Forenames

Back to top

First names often paired with Sword

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

Modern profile

Back to top

Neighbourhood profile for Sword

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

Established but Challenged

Nationally, the Sword surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established but Challenged, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Sword household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many households in these neighbourhoods comprise separated or divorced single parents with dependent children. Residents are typically born in the UK, and these neighbourhoods have relatively few members of ethnic minorities. The prevalence of children, their parents and those at or above normal retirement age, suggests neighbourhood structures may be long-established. Levels of unpaid care are high, and long-term disability is more common than in the Supergroup as a whole. Use of the social rented sector is common, often in terraced houses. Levels of overcrowding are above the Supergroup average. Unemployment is high, while those in work are employed in elementary occupations such as caring, leisure and customer services. Many residents have low level qualifications. Neighbourhood concentrations of this Group are found in the South Wales Valleys, Belfast, Londonderry and the Central Lowlands of Scotland.

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, Sword 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

Sword 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

Sword falls in decile 3 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

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

3
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Sword is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of Over 70 mbit/s.

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

10
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

Meaning and origin of Sword

The surname "SWORD" is an English occupational surname that originated in the late 12th century. It derives from the Old English word "sweord," meaning a sword or a blade. This name was likely given to someone who made or sold swords, or perhaps a soldier who was skilled with a sword.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1195, which mentions a person named Richard Swerd. In the 13th century, the surname appeared in various forms, such as Swerd, Swerde, and Sworde, reflecting the spelling variations of the time.

The name Sword can be traced back to several locations in England, including Swords in County Dublin, Ireland, and Sword House in Northumberland, England. These place names may have been derived from the Old English word "sweord" or could have influenced the surname's spelling.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landowners in England compiled by order of William the Conqueror, there are no direct mentions of the surname Sword. However, it is possible that some of the recorded individuals with similar-sounding names, such as Suert or Suard, were ancestors of those who later adopted the Sword surname.

One notable historical figure with the surname Sword was William Sword (c. 1540-1617), an English churchman who served as the Dean of Windsor from 1598 until his death. Another was Sir Walter Sword (c. 1587-1653), an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in the early 17th century.

In the 18th century, John Sword (1714-1768) was a Scottish minister and philosopher who wrote on moral philosophy and theology. Thomas Sword (1781-1843) was a British naval officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and later became a Rear Admiral.

A famous bearer of the Sword surname in more recent times was Philip Sword (1865-1945), an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club in the late 19th century.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

Back to top

Sword families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Sword 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. Angus leads with 88 Swords recorded in 1881 and an index of 16.42x.

County Total Index
Angus 88 16.42x
Midlothian 69 8.90x
Durham 51 2.96x
Lanarkshire 51 2.73x
Perthshire 51 19.64x
Norfolk 35 3.94x
Northumberland 29 3.37x
Lancashire 28 0.41x
Roxburghshire 28 26.72x
Selkirkshire 26 49.68x
Surrey 17 0.60x
Staffordshire 13 0.67x
Stirlingshire 10 4.69x
Yorkshire 9 0.16x
Ayrshire 8 1.85x
Dumfriesshire 8 6.26x
Middlesex 8 0.14x
Warwickshire 7 0.48x
Cambridgeshire 6 1.64x
Lincolnshire 6 0.65x
Cumberland 5 1.00x
Hampshire 5 0.42x
Cheshire 4 0.31x
Gloucestershire 4 0.35x
Kirkcudbrightshire 4 4.78x
Peeblesshire 3 11.03x
Royal Navy 3 4.35x
Aberdeenshire 2 0.37x
Fife 2 0.58x
Northamptonshire 2 0.37x
Nottinghamshire 2 0.26x
Orkney 2 3.14x
Argyllshire 1 0.62x
East Lothian 1 1.31x
Essex 1 0.09x
Hertfordshire 1 0.25x
Morayshire 1 1.11x
Renfrewshire 1 0.22x
West Lothian 1 1.15x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Dundee in Angus leads with 60 Swords recorded in 1881 and an index of 29.99x.

Place Total Index
Dundee 60 29.99x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 28 8.98x
Lakenham 18 142.41x
New Monkland 18 32.55x
Westoe 17 17.43x
Glasgow 15 4.52x
Jedburgh 15 146.06x
Dunning 13 400.00x
Stoke Upon Trent 13 6.28x
Barony 11 2.32x
Monifieth 11 58.11x
Liverpool 10 2.40x
Bowden 9 592.11x
Perth East Church 9 36.76x
Selkirk 9 61.06x
Bermondsey 8 4.65x
Chilton 8 148.98x
Penicuik 8 75.97x
Temple 8 259.74x
Birmingham 7 1.44x
Byker 7 16.45x
Toxteth Park 7 3.01x
Battersea 6 2.82x
Great Grimsby 6 10.22x
Hoddam 6 194.81x
Kensington London 6 1.87x
Liff Benvie 6 7.38x
Longbenton 6 16.46x
Mains 6 131.87x
Methven 6 157.48x
Ovington 6 566.04x
Perth West Church 6 48.70x
St Andrewthe Less 6 14.33x
Arbroath 5 28.15x
Aughton 5 73.53x
Campsie 5 42.70x
Govan 5 1.08x
Leeds 5 1.54x
North Leith 5 13.94x
Norwich St Peter 5 85.62x
Roberton 5 446.43x
Castle Eden 4 229.89x
Heriot 4 470.59x
Hethersett 4 177.78x
Liscard 4 17.38x
Melrose 4 30.37x
Middlestone 4 115.94x
Newcastle On Tyne All Sts 4 7.78x
Ryton 4 66.12x
Sorn 4 47.06x
South Hamlet 4 56.98x
Tanfield 4 19.55x
Bowling 3 5.28x
Cavers 3 114.50x
Cornforth 3 59.17x
Dunblane 3 48.31x
Edinburgh Canongate 3 15.21x
Galashiels 3 15.50x
Gateshead 3 2.33x
Heigham 3 6.28x
Innerleithen 3 41.55x
Kilmadock 3 50.25x
Kilspindie 3 218.98x
Kirkhope 3 275.23x
Manchester 3 0.97x
Newbattle 3 45.32x
South Leith 3 3.44x
St Giles 3 27.93x
Borgue 2 88.89x
Chorlton On Medlock 2 1.83x
Edinburgh Tron Church 2 55.10x
Ettrick 2 253.16x
Falkirk 2 4.00x
Inverurie 2 33.00x
Muiravonside 2 36.90x
Nottingham St Mary 2 0.99x
Ovingham Whittle Spital 2 152.67x
Peterborough 2 5.08x
Tibbermore 2 53.76x
Wetheral 2 30.30x

Top female names

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

Top male names

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

FAQ

Sword surname: questions and answers

How common was the Sword surname in 1881?

In 1881, 596 people were recorded with the Sword surname. That placed it at #5,868 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Sword surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 902 in 2016. That gives Sword a modern rank of #6,292.

What does the Sword surname mean?

An occupational surname referring to a soldier, swordsman, or one who makes or sells swords.

What does the Sword map show?

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