The swain Surname
swain Name Meaning and History
- Northern English: occupational name for a servant or attendant, from the Middle English word swein ‘servant’ or Old Norse sveinn ‘boy’, ‘servant’. In Old Norse this word is also found as a personal name in the form Sveinn; so in some cases the origin may be patronymic.
- Scottish and Irish: reduced form of McSwain.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
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