Explore the Family Name Schwer

The meaning of Schwer

1. South German: relationship name from Middle High German sweher, swēr ‘father-in-law’. Compare Schwager and Schwehr. 2. German: variant of Schweder 2. 3. German: nickname from Middle High German swær ‘painful, unpleasant, troublesome; sad, sorrowful; weighty, heavy’. 4. Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname from German schwer ‘heavy’.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Schwer in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname 'Schwer' has slightly dropped in popularity between 2000 and 2010. The rank of this surname moved from 35,994th place in 2000 to 37,544th place in 2010, indicating a decline of 4.31%. However, the total count of people with the Schwer surname slightly increased by 0.68% from 589 to 593 during the same period. The proportion of individuals named Schwer per 100,000 people decreased by 9.09%, shifting from 0.22 to 0.2.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#35,994	#37,544	-4.31%
Count	589	593	0.68%
Proportion per 100k	0.22	0.2	-9.09%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Schwer

The Decennial U.S. Census also provides insight into the ethnic identity associated with the surname 'Schwer'. In 2000, 97.62% of individuals bearing this surname identified as White, which slightly decreased to 96.63% by 2010. The Hispanic community holding the Schwer surname saw growth over the decade, with a rise of 49.02%. Meanwhile, the number of people identifying as two or more races also appeared in 2010, accounting for 0.84% of the Schwer population. There were no recorded individuals with Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, or American Indian and Alaskan Native ethnicity in both 2000 and 2010 census data.

	2000	2010	Change
White	97.62%	96.63%	-1.01%
Hispanic	1.02%	1.52%	49.02%
Two or More Races	0%	0.84%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%