The Swart surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,490 people carried this name — #7,418 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 65,800 people counted. That is up 6% from 4,222 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Swart surname

English and Dutch surname, from swart (“dark-haired, dark-skinned, swarthy”).

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

In Switzerland’s population statistics

32 people named Swart live in Switzerland.

They live in 5 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in St. Gallen.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

St. Gallen 8
Zurich 7
Basel-Landschaft 6
Lucerne 6
Bern 5

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In the Nordic population registers

40 people named Swart is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 40

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In print

Swart in American newspapers,
1896–1919.

Newspaper page from Weekly Union carrying the name Swart
Weekly Union 1896-10-14
Newspaper page from The Athena Press carrying the name Swart
The Athena Press 1906-02-02
Newspaper page from Capital Journal carrying the name Swart
Capital Journal 1919-11-22

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 64,956 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Swart in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1990s.

2,089 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Swart. The most, 955, date from the 1950s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in the Australian Capital Territory, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 642
Queensland 624
Victoria 307
South Australia 172
Western Australia 148
Tasmania 100
ACT (Canberra) 92

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

Who carried it

People named Swart,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Peder Swart d. 1562 · bishop
  • Wyler Swart 1582–1640 · gunsmith
  • Dirck Cornelisz. Swart 1600–1624 · cartographer
  • Pieter Swart 1621–1648 · painter
  • Johannes Swart 1685–1759 · publisher
  • Johannes Swart 1685–1758 · publisher

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Swart,
in the records of 6 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 States588 records

588 records of the Swart name in the United States
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 148
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 122
  • Other U.S. records 318
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Arthur C. Swart

    Born 1909 in Minnesota. Enlisted 1944 at Fort Snelling; stenographer from Hennepin County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1957, buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minnesota.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Johannes Swart

    Arrived at New York in 1866 aboard the Marco Polo from Bremen, aged 18; grocer. From Aurich, Hanover, Germany.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Waldon Jerome Swart

    Born 1948; from Spicer, Minnesota. U.S. Army, construction and utilities worker; killed in action 1969 in Binh Duong, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 588 records for Swart in the United States.

Counts: New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Netherlands23,862 records

23,862 records of the Swart name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 11,631
  • Dutch population registers 9,189
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 3,042
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Willem Swart

    Married in 1913 in Castricum; farmer. Died 1953 in Alkmaar, aged 71.

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Willemina Swart

    Married in 1881 in Amsterdam; domestic servant. Died 1930 in Utrecht, aged 67.

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0); Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Roelf Seits Swart

    Married in 1833 in Zuidhorn; farmhand. Died 1888 in Zuidhorn, aged 77; labourer.

    Open Archives, Groninger Archieven (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 23,862 records for Swart in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Germany26 records

26 records of the Swart name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Hermann Swart

    From Chemnitz. Reported missing in the Saxon casualty list of 3 December 1914; then reported taken prisoner in the list of 26 February 1915 (Infantry Regiment No. 104).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Erich Swart

    From Rumbeck, Cassel. Reported dead in the Prussian casualty list of 21 October 1915 (Jäger Battalion No. 11).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  3. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Hellmuth Swart

    From Plauen i. V. Reported dead in the Saxon casualty list of 13 June 1919 (Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 106).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 3 of 26 records for Swart in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Australia14 records

14 records of the Swart name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 11
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 1
  • Other Australian records 2
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Jacob Swart

    Business prop of Moorabbin, Victoria; died 1956.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Henry Swart

    Arrived in Victoria in 1853 aboard the Despatch, aged 45.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Thomas Swart

    Held a land order in Queensland in 1881.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 14 records for Swart in Australia.

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

France5 records

5 records of the Swart name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Jeremias Johan Nicolas Swart

    Born 1912 in the Netherlands; died 1990 in Boscamnant (Charente-Maritime).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Marie-Therese Swart

    Born 1901 in Mont-de-Marsan (Landes); died 1971 in Bayonne (Pyrénées-Atlantiques).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Lucien Seraphin Swart

    Born 1904 in Roubaix (Nord); died 1980 in Sancerre (Cher).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 5 records for Swart in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Canada1 record

1 record of the Swart name in Canada Canadian Virtual War Memorial
  1. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Dirk Cornelius Swart

    Died in service in 1944.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Counts: Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Swart.

When the index is not enough

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

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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