The Sweet surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 30,051 people carried this name — #1,169 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 9,810 people counted. That is up 4% from 28,872 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Sweet surname

As an English surname, from the adjective sweet.

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

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Sweet’ — the first of the origins he gives.

An early record he cites: Walter Swete, Somerset, 1327–28 (1 Edward III) — Kirby's Quest (Somerset).

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 731 · public domain.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Sweet was found among the farmers of Somerset: 11 in every 10,000.

Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Somerset 11

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

286 families named Sweet, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 1,694 people lived in those households, 5.9 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 7 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

New York 76
Rhode Island 65
Massachusetts 42
Maine 31
New Hampshire 30
Vermont 13
South Carolina 10
Connecticut 9
North Carolina 5
Pennsylvania 4
Virginia 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 264 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Sweet in American newspapers,
1896–1912.

Newspaper page from The Colfax Chronicle carrying the name Sweet
The Colfax Chronicle 1912-08-17
Newspaper page from Foster's Daily Democrat carrying the name Sweet
Foster's Daily Democrat 1897-01-15
Newspaper page from The Weekly Thibodaux Sentinel And Journal Of The 8th Senatorial District carrying the name Sweet
The Weekly Thibodaux Sentinel And Journal Of The 8th Senatorial District 1896-05-02

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 7,817 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Sweet in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

35,707 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Sweet. The most, 6,037, date from the 1910s. 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 Northern Territory, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 10,615
Victoria 8,399
Queensland 5,724
South Australia 4,274
Western Australia 3,897
Tasmania 2,474
ACT (Canberra) 186
Northern Territory 75

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

Who carried it

People named Sweet,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Samuel Sweet
    Samuel Sweet 1825–1886 · photographer
  • Samuel Sweet
    Samuel Sweet 1825–1886 · photographer
  • Marvin Sweet d. 2010 · pedagogue
  • Flora Fanny Maude Browne d. 1947
  • Thomas Sweet d. 1928
  • Louise Scudder Ryall Sweet d. 1928

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Sweet,
in the records of 7 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 States2,865 records

2,865 records of the Sweet name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 979
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 586
  • Other U.S. records 1,300
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Charles D. Sweet

    Born 1920 in New York. Enlisted 1942 at Utica; office clerk from Oneida County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2000, buried at North Syracuse Cemetery, New York.

    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 John Harlan Sweet

    Born 1944; from Coral Gables, Florida. U.S. Air Force; died of wounds 1969 in Khanh Hoa, South Vietnam. Buried at Zachary Taylor National Cemetery, Kentucky.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Edward Sweet

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Teutonic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 20; laborer. From Liverpool, England; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 2,865 records for Sweet in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada746 records

746 records of the Sweet name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 654
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 26
  • Other Canadian records 66
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Annie Laurie Sweet

    Killed in the Halifax Explosion of 1917, aged 30; buried at Windsor.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Geo Sweet

    Came to Ontario in 1880 aboard the Sarmatian, landing at Quebec, bound for St. Mary's, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. 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 Julian Frederic Sweet

    Died in service in 1942.

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

Showing 3 of 746 records for Sweet 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. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Australia700 records

700 records of the Sweet name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 325
  • Tasmanian Names Index 170
  • Other Australian records 205
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Arthur Charles Sweet

    Died 1927 in N.e.s.m. Hospital, Scottsdale, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1928.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Annie Elizabeth Sweet

    Born 1875 in Brighton, Tasmania. Married 1891 in Brighton, Tasmania, aged 17.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Mary Sweet

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Sovereign, arriving 1829; ticket of leave 1831. Native of Cork Co.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)

Showing 3 of 700 records for Sweet in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (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); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain).

Netherlands54 records

54 records of the Sweet name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 23
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 19
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 12
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Elisabeth Sweet

    Married in 1829 in Rotterdam. Died 1891 in Rotterdam, aged 88.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Margaretha Sweet

    Married in 1867 in Amsterdam; cleaning woman.

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

    Married in 1782 in Monnickendam.

    Open Archives, Waterlands Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 54 records for Sweet 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).

United Kingdom29 records

29 records of the Sweet name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 19
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 6
  • Other British records 4
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Zacheriah Sweet

    Buried in 1815 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 56.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Elizabeth Jane Sweet

    Will proved in 1940; of Swansea.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record S. G. Sweet

    Gloucestershire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 29 records for Sweet in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand8 records

8 records of the Sweet name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 5
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Stephen Sweet

    Buried in 1916 at Akaroa Anglican Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury, aged 29.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Shirley Margaret Sweet

    Died 1996, aged 58; buried at Tairua Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Thomas Sweet

    Died 1896, aged 38; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 8 records for Sweet in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

France1 record

1 record of the Sweet 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 Herbert Edgard Sweet

    Born 1911 in Great Britain; died 1997 in Fréjus (Var).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Sweet.

When the index is not enough

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