The Swinney surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,856 people carried this name — #6,909 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 60,600 people counted. That is up 3% from 4,737 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Swinney surname

Variant of Sweeney.

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

In the first U.S. census, 1790

64 families named Swinney, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 301 people lived in those households, 4.7 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 13 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

Pennsylvania 19
Virginia 19
Maryland 10
North Carolina 6
South Carolina 4
New York 3
Massachusetts 2
New Hampshire 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

Swinney in American newspapers,
1903–1912.

Newspaper page from The Wisconsin Weekly Advocate carrying the name Swinney
The Wisconsin Weekly Advocate 1903-07-16
Newspaper page from Evening Star carrying the name Swinney
Evening Star 1912-02-11

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 10,758 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Swinney in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1970s.

604 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Swinney. The most, 114, date from the 1920s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 2.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 429
Western Australia 62
Victoria 41
Queensland 34
South Australia 19
ACT (Canberra) 9
Tasmania 4
Northern Territory 2

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

Who carried it

People named Swinney,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Harry Swinney
    Harry Swinney 1939–2026 · physicist
  • Sidney Swinney 1721–1783 · writer
  • Albina Swinney 1861–1942
  • Stella Swinney 1911–1999 · army officer
  • Clovis Swinney 1945–2019 · American football player

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Swinney,
in the records of 5 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 States245 records

245 records of the Swinney name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 154
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 64
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 10
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 5
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 5
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 3
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Harmon J. Swinney

    Born 1907 in Oklahoma. Enlisted 1942 at Oklahoma City; meat cutter. U.S. Army Air Forces veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Resurrection Memorial Cemetery, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

    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 George Edward Swinney

    Born 1945; from Hamburg, Arkansas. U.S. Army, pioneer; died in an accident 1966 in South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Ellen Swinney

    Arrived at New York in 1849 aboard the Hyperion from Glasgow, aged 20; servant. From Great Britain.

    U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain)

Showing 3 of 245 records for Swinney 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, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (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); 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).

Australia16 records

16 records of the Swinney name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 7
  • Tasmanian Names Index 5
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 2
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 1
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 1
  1. 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 John Swinney

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Morley, arriving 1817; ticket of leave 1825. Native of Dumfries.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record George Swinney

    Arrived in Queensland in 1925 aboard the Jervis Bay, aged 17.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Henrietta Swinney

    Of Essendon, Victoria; died 1978.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 16 records for Swinney in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); 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).

Canada5 records

5 records of the Swinney name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 4
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Joseph Swinney

    Died 1961 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. 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 Henry Jenkins Swinney

    Died in service in 1915.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Minnie Louise Swinney

    Died 1957 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 5 records for Swinney in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

New Zealand5 records

5 records of the Swinney name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 4
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Robert John Swinney

    Died 1961, aged 67; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record W. Swinney

    Corporal, New Zealand Infantry. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Dalla Margaret Swinney

    Died 1986, aged 58; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 5 records for Swinney in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Livre d’or of the war dead, Paris, Ministère des pensions, Archives nationales (CC0).

United Kingdom3 records

3 records of the Swinney name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 2
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary Swinney

    Buried in 1818 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 27.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record H. A. Swinney

    King's (Liverpool Regiment). Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record X. Swinney

    King's. Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment). Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

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

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. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Swinney.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Swinney is.
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