SWINDALL
Swindall is an English surname that has been in use since at least the early sixteenth century. The name is recorded in a number of forms, including Swendell, Swindell, Swindle, Swyndell, Swindells and a dialectic form, Swindells, and has appeared in the parish registers of Lancashire, Yorkshire and Cheshire.
The earliest known spelling in legal documents is that of Roger Swyndels, dated 1522 in the Wills Records at the city of Chester during the reign of King Henry V. Other early instances include Henry Swyndell who married Janet Winterbotham on 13th November 1575 at Rotherham in Yorkshire; Joannes Swendell, son of Petri Swendell, who was christened on 1st April 1578 at Almondbury, also Yorkshire; and James Swindells, who married Faith Ormondroyd at Bradford on 3rd January 1820.
The etymology of Swindall is ambiguous but can be linked to several Old English elements. One interpretation points to the Old English verb swindel, meaning “to cheat” or “to deceive.” Under this construction the surname would have originated as a nickname for an individual known for dishonest conduct.
Other plausible derivations involve the Old English words swin (meaning “swine”) and dael (meaning “valley”). Thus, the name may have been a toponymic indicator of someone who inhabited a valley where wild boars roamed – a place such as the hamlet of Swindale near Shap in Westmorland, or a medieval estate called Swndelves in the parish of Cheadle, Cheshire. A third possibility is the Old Norse term swindale, also meaning “swine valley,” which emphasizes a connection to swineherding in a remote valley.
Geographically, the surname has been most common in the northern counties of England. In the modern era it is prevalently found in Lancashire and Yorkshire, with historical evidence of concentration in Westmorland, Cheshire and Cumberland. The name is also documented in Scotland, especially in Aberdeenshire and Dundee.
In the contemporary era, the surname has moved beyond the British Isles. In the United States it is most commonly recorded in the southeastern states of Georgia and Mississippi, where it appears in the top one hundred surnames according to the 2020 Social Security Administration data. Kentucky, Alabama and Tennessee also have significant numbers of individuals bearing the name. In Canada, the surname is most frequently found in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, and was ranked within the top ten thousand names in 2010. Overall, there are approximately 1 300 records in the United States and about 800 in Canada relating to the surname.
Variants of Swindall that have appeared in historical documents include Swindal, Swinley, Swindale, Swinney, Swinneye, Swinefell, Swininger, Swindell and Swine. The existence of a patronymic form such as Swindallson is also documented, indicating the practice of deriving surnames from the fore‑father’s name.
In modern times, members of the Swindall family have made their mark in various professional fields. A notable example is Blake Bryan Swindall, owner of Swin Dispensaries, operating outlets in Hollister, Ozark, Nixa and Springfield, Missouri in the United States.
Typical given names associated with the Swindall surname
Male
- Charles
- Gregory
- Ian
- James
- Victor
Female
- Charlotte
- Diana
- Lilian
- Peta
- Thursa
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Swindall in...
Braille
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Morse
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There are approximately 79 people named Swindall in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Only around one in a million people in Britain are named Swindall.
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Swindall
- Steve Swindall -
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.