| ![Show Contents]() Sweat History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Etymology of SweatWhat does the name Sweat mean? The name Sweat is an ancient Anglo-Saxon name that was given to a person who was a person who was referred to as swete, which is an Old English word used to describe a sweet or gentle person. 1 Another source claims the name was "probably an Anglo-Saxon personal name, having reference to character." 2 Early Origins of the Sweat familyThe surname Sweat was first found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 where the name was found as both a forename and a surname: Swet le Bone, Norfolk; Adam Swet, Oxfordshire; and Roger Swet, Cambridgeshire. 3 In Somerset, Walter Swete was listed there 1 Edward III (during the first year of the reign of King Edward III) 4 and later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Johannes Suete and Johannes Swete as holding lands there at that time. 3 Early History of the Sweat familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Sweat research. Another 265 words (19 lines of text) covering the years 1578, 1583, 1660, 1672, 1685, 1700, 1708, 1712, 1752, 1770, 1774, 1777, 1781 and 1821 are included under the topic Early Sweat History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Sweat Spelling VariationsOnly recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Sweat has undergone many spelling variations, including Sweit, Sweet, Swete, Sweete, Sweett and others. Early Notables of the Sweat familyMore information is included under the topic Early Sweat Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Sweat RankingIn the United States, the name Sweat is the 3,137th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 5 Migration of the Sweat family to IrelandSome of the Sweat family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 34 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
| Sweat migration to the United States | + |
To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Sweat were among those contributors:
Sweat Settlers in United States in the 19th Century- M A Sweat, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 6
- L. D. M. Sweat, aged 60, who immigrated to America, in 1895
- M. Sweat, aged 50, who landed in America, in 1895
Sweat Settlers in United States in the 20th Century- Marg. F.M. Sweat, aged 83, who immigrated to the United States, in 1907
- William P. Sweat, aged 25, who settled in America, in 1912
- Edward Sweat, aged 28, who landed in America, in 1918
- Maud A. Sweat, aged 24, who landed in America, in 1919
- William Sweat, aged 27, who landed in America, in 1922
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
| Contemporary Notables of the name Sweat (post 1700) | + |
- Judge Noah S. "Soggy" Sweat Jr. (1922-1996), American jurist, law professor, and state representative for Mississippi
- Lorenzo De Medici Sweat (1818-1898), American politician, U.S. Representative from Maine
- Margaret Jane Mussey Sweat (1823-1908), née Mussey, an American author, patron and reformer from Portland, Maine, a noted poet, journalist, and author, she wrote the first American lesbian novel, Ethel's Love Life
- Edward "Eddie" Sweat (1939-1998), American groom in Thoroughbred horse racing for Secretariat
- Keith Sweat (b. 1963), American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer and radio personality
| Suggested Readings for the name Sweat | + |
- Sweat Families of the South by Erbon W. Wise.
- Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
- Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
- Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
- Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
- "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
- Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
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