The Swem Name: Records, Origin and Blazon

Swem began as a Dutch family name. Elsdon Smith's dictionary of American family names explains it as “dweller at the sign of the swan”.

• It is a topographic name, describing where an early bearer lived.
• Related forms include Swaim.
• 301 Americans were listed as Swem in the 2010 census.

Family crest and blazon

Coats of arms were borne by individual families. If arms are recorded under the Swem name, our researchers explain whose they were and how they were blazoned. Get the complete Swem report, with a museum-style coat of arms.