Swindell
A locational surname from Swindale, meaning someone from the “swine valley.”
The #7,229 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 66,857 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name is generally explained as coming from Swindale, a place-name in Westmorland/Cumbria. It appears to combine Old English swīn or Old Norse svín, meaning “swine” or “pig,” with Old English dæl or Old Norse dalr, meaning “valley.” In other words, the literal sense is “swine valley” or “valley of swine.”
History
19th-century surname writers treated Swindell as a local name from Swindale, and related forms such as Swindale, Swindle, Swindells, and Swindles as variant or pluralized forms. The name is recorded in medieval and later English records, and the excerpted sources note London examples as well as later bearers in Boston, showing its spread beyond northern England. Some authors also connected Cheshire Swindells to a different place-name, Swyndelves, so not every family line may share the same origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The underlying place-name Swindale was already in use by around 1200, making this one of those surnames that preserves a very old bit of English landscape vocabulary.
From the historical record
“SWIN DALE ] (Eng. and Scand.) Bel. to Swin- SWINDELL \ dale ; or Dweller at the Swine- SWINDLE J Valley {O.E. swin = O.N. suin + O.E. dcel = O.N. dal-r] Swindale, Westmd., was Swindale c. 1200. SWINDELLS \ pi., and genit., of Swindell, SWINDLES /Swindle.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)