surname
In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...
derived from the
Old Norse
Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...
personal name
A personal name, full name or prosoponym (from Ancient Greek ''prósōpon'' – person, and ''onoma'' –name) is the set of names by which an individual person or animal is known. When taken together as a word-group, they all relate to that on ...
''Sveinn'' (
Sven
Sven is a Scandinavian masculine first name.
In Old Norse the meaning was "young man" or "servant" and the original Old Norse spelling was ''sveinn''.
Variants such as '' Svend'' are found in Danish and Norwegian. Another variant, '' Svein'' ...
,
Sweyn Sweyn is a Scandinavian masculine given name. Notable people with the surname include:
Kings:
* Sweyn Forkbeard (960–1014), King of Denmark, England, and Norway as Sweyn I
* Sweyn or Svein Knutsson (c. 1016–1035), King of Norway as Sweyn II
* S ...
), from an
Old Norse
Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...
word meaning a
youth
Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood (Maturity (psychological), maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as bei ...
or young man, and hence a young male attendant (compare in meaning
Old English
Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
'cniht' =
knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity.
The concept of a knighthood ...
;
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
'Knecht'). There are a number of variations in the spelling of the surname Swain, including Swaine, Swainne, and Swayne.
From this word meaning boy, young male or lover, are derived:
* The noun swain, meaning a rustic lover or boyfriend, cf. the numerous examples in
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
's work, including his lyric, "'' o is Sylvia, what is she that all our Swains commend her''" (from ''
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
''The Two Gentlemen of Verona'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1589 and 1593. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as showing his first ten ...
'') and "''O God! methinks it were a happy life, To be no better than a homely swain;"'' (from ''
King Henry VI
Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English throne at the age of eight months, upon ...
'')
* There are also specific nautical words involving swain:
boatswain
A boatswain ( , ), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun, also known as a deck boss, or a qualified member of the deck department, or the third hand on a fishing vessel, is the most senior Naval rating, rate of the deck department and is responsible for the ...
(literally "young man in charge of a boat") which can be seen in Shakespeare's ''
The Tempest
''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...
'', and
coxswain
The coxswain ( or ) is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from ''cock'', referring to the wiktionary:cockboat, cockboat, a ...
.
The American Old West outlaw
John Wesley Hardin
John Wesley Hardin (May 26, 1853 – August 19, 1895) was an American Old West outlaw, gunfighter, and controversial folk icon. Hardin often got into trouble with the law from an early age. He killed his first man at the age of 15, claiming he ...
used various aliases with Swain as the surname.
People with the name include:
* Ashok Swain, Indian-born professor at the Swedish
Uppsala University
Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation.
Initially fou ...
* Bennie Swain, American professional basketball player
* Brennan Swain, American television star and winner of The Amazing Race
* Brett Swain (disambiguation)
* Carol M. Swain (born 1954), American retired professor of political science and law and author
* Dailyn Swain (born 2005), American basketball player
* Daniel Swain (born 1983) or
Danny!
Daniel Keith Swain (born August 18, 1983), known mononymously as Danny!, is an American rapper, record producer, singer, and composer.
Swain rose to prominence after his debut performance on ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'', where he premiered h ...
, American rap performer and record producer
* David Lowry Swain (1801–1868), governor of North Carolina
*
Diana Swain
Diana Swain is a public speaker and the founder of Diana Swain Strategies, an Executive Coaching and Communications Consulting firm based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Swain established the firm in January, 2024 after a career as a Canadian journal ...
, Canadian television journalist
*
Dominique Swain
Dominique Swain (born August 12, 1980) is an American actress. She first came to attention as the title character in Adrian Lyne's 1997 adaptation of ''Lolita'', alongside a supporting role in John Woo's ''Face/Off'' that same year. She worked ...
, American actress
*
Freda Swain
Freda Swain (31 October 190229 January 1985) was a British composer, pianist and music educator.
Biography
Freda Swain was born in Portsmouth, England, the daughter of Thomas and Gertrude (née Allen) Swain. Her first piano lessons (from age 11) ...
, (1902 – 1985) British composer, pianist and music educator
*
Freddie Swain
Freddie Swain (born August 4, 1998) is an American professional football wide receiver. He played college football at Florida.
Early life
Swain attended North Marion High School, where he was a consensus four-star recruit and fielded scholarshi ...
Jack Swain
John Sanderson Swain (13 April 1914 – 2000) was an English professional footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, A ...
, English footballer
*
James Swain
James Swain (born June 7, 1956) is an American crime fiction author and magician.
Swain has written at more than fifteen fiction and non-fiction books. Many have been translated into twelve languages.John Swain (born 1959), American National Football League player
*
Jon Swain
Jon Anketell Brewer Swain (born 1948) is a British journalist and writer.
Swain's book ''River of Time: A Memoir of Vietnam ''chronicles his experiences from 1970 to 1975 during the Vietnam War, war in Indochina, including the Fall of Phnom Pen ...
Louisa Ann Swain
Louisa Ann Swain (née Gardner; 1801 – January 25, 1880) was the first woman in the United States to vote in a General election (U.S.), general election after the repeal of women's suffrage in New Jersey in 1807. She cast her ballot on Septem ...
(1801–1880), the first woman in America to vote in a general election
*
Mack Swain
Mack Swain (born Moroni Swain; February 16, 1876 – August 25, 1935) was a prolific early United States, American film actor, who appeared in many of Mack Sennett’s comedies at Keystone Studios, including the Keystone Cops series. He also ...
(1876–1935), American actor and vaudevillian
*
Margaret Swain
Margaret Helen Swain ( Hart; 13 May 1909 – 27 July 2002) was an English embroidery and textile historian. Trained as a nurse in London, she began a career as a historian after noticing no history about Ayrshire whitework embroidery in books f ...
(1909–2002), English embroidery and textile historian
* Paul J. Swain (1943–2022), American Roman Catholic bishop
*
Paul Swain (politician)
Paul Desmond Swain (born 20 December 1951) is a former New Zealand politician. He was a Member of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 1990 until 2008, representing the New Zealand Labour Party, Labour Party. From 2010 to 2019, he was ...
Shurlee Swain
Shurlee Lesley Swain, (born 1948) is an Australian social welfare historian, researcher and author. Since August 2017 she has been an Emeritus Professor at the Australian Catholic University (ACU).
Early life and education
Swain was born in 19 ...