Swanson Family History

Americanized form of Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, and North German Svensson and Norwegian and Danish Svensen or Svendsen, cognates of Scottish (Caithness) and English: from the Middle English and Older Scots personal name Swan, an Anglicized form of Old Norse Sveinn (from sveinn ‘lad’) + -son.

In northern England, Middle English Swanson was in fact an occasional variant of Swainson. In some cases, the name may also arise from Middle English swan(e) and swon(e) ‘swineherd, peasant, male servant’ (Old English swān) + -son, but this is unlikely to be the usual origin.

See Swan.