The McSwain surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,213 people carried this name — #5,600 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 47,400 people counted. That is up 4% from 5,980 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the McSwain surname

A surname from Scottish Gaelic [in turn from Old Norse].

Probably an Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mac Suibhne, like McSweeney or a Gaelic patronymic based on Old Norse sveinn (“boy, servant”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «McSwain» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In print

McSwain in American newspapers,
1905–1924.

Newspaper page from The New Haven Union carrying the name McSwain
The New Haven Union 1905-11-18
Newspaper page from The Montgomery Advertiser carrying the name McSwain
The Montgomery Advertiser 1921-03-14
Newspaper page from The Birmingham Age-herald carrying the name McSwain
The Birmingham Age-herald 1924-07-22

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 9,264 pages in all carry the name.

In print

McSwain in Australian newspapers,
1870s–1990s.

1,791 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McSwain. The most, 579, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Western Australia, at 4.9 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Western Australia 843
Victoria 780
Queensland 84
New South Wales 33
South Australia 25
Northern Territory 9
Tasmania 9
ACT (Canberra) 5

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McSwain.

Who carried it

People named McSwain,
with a public archive behind them.

  • John J. McSwain
    John J. McSwain 1875–1936 · politician
  • Charlie McSwain 1901–1976 · Australian rules football player
  • Eldridge Tracy McSwain 1898–1978 · university teacher

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0.

In the public record

People named McSwain,
in the records of 3 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States336 records

336 records of the McSwain name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 241
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 68
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 12
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 8
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 4
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Lester M. McSwain

    Born 1913 in Alabama. Enlisted 1943 at Fort McClellan; driver from Cullman County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1999, buried at Ryans Creek Cemetery, Bremen, Alabama.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Harvey Joseph McSwain

    Born 1949; from Cincinnati, Ohio. U.S. Army, indirect fire infantryman; killed in action 1967 in Quang Tin, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Lewis Gates McSwain

    U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War. Born 1930, died 1990; buried at Allegheny County Memorial Park, Allison Park, Pennsylvania.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 336 records for McSwain in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Australia106 records

106 records of the McSwain name in Australia
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 64
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 41
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Julia McSwain

    Arrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the Miltiades, aged 58; Scottish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Neil McSwain

    Former labourer of Hamilton, Victoria; died 1958.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Biographical index Charles McSwain

    Died 1949; obituary published in Western Australia.

    State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 106 records for McSwain in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada46 records

46 records of the McSwain name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 41
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 4
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Margaret McSwain

    Died 1897; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Edward John McSwain

    Died 1917 in Pictou, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Isabella A. McSwain

    Married 1877 in Pictou, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 46 records for McSwain in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to McSwain.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McSwain is.
A volume says what happened to it.

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