Swink
A rare surname of uncertain origin, probably a nickname or descriptive name rather than a place-name.
The #8,690 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 81,700 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Swink is poorly documented in the historical material provided. The only excerpt places it among a cluster of short, punchy surnames that look nickname-like, but it does not explain the name itself. On general onomastic grounds, Swink is most likely English in form and may reflect an old descriptive nickname, though the exact original word is uncertain.
History
The name is uncommon in modern records, including in the 2010 U.S. census. Because the excerpt does not supply an actual derivation, there is no secure historical story to give beyond the fact that it survives as a rare surname in English-speaking populations.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Its shape makes it sound like a vivid nickname, but the historical evidence for what it originally meant is thin.
From the historical record
“Snark, Snick, Snuck, Snooks, Snuggs, Snoots, Spoots, Spuck, Squark, Squance, Spinks, Swikes, Stikes, Stipes, Slimp, Slass, Jinks, Slynx, Swink, Smilts, Smitch, Sweek, Shang, Srauggs, Snuggs, Scruggs, Suggs, Stoggs, Scroggs, Scags, Scraggs, Straggs, Triggs, Nibbs, Futch, Blick, Blitch, Blarm, Prug, Tits, Teets…”
— A Grammar of American Surnames