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Zack Swanson

Professor Raymond

UWRT 1104

3 October 2017

The History of the Swanson name

I have found that Swanson Is relatively common within the English language. It has

Swedish and English roots. It was derived from the Swedish version Svensson, and the English

name Johnson. So it is a conversion of the two. The story begins with my great great

grandfather, Sven Johnson. Coming to America from Sweden, he wanted to be unique, as

Johnson was one of the most common names on the boat. So once he got to the immigration

station, he said his last name was Swanson, and the legend began. This impacted our family

greatly, as we felt the responsibility to make a legacy since our Swanson origin was relatively

new. I am technically only 5th generation Swanson, so I feel obligated to make a little

memorable history to shaped our family legacy. Being the first ever D1 athlete in the family

counts as memorable right? The Swanson family also has some peculiar outcomes as well, my

father is a golf professional, his brother is a lawyer, and his other brother in a contractor. Three

totally different occupations coming from one household, but one thing in common is success.

That is why I am proud of my family, we all seem to have a success story, or something that we

are proud of.

There has been an interesting development in first names here in the US. Many families

are following the trend of using common last names as first names. In earlier times, parents

would name the child after the mother's maiden name. Now it is just common to know a
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Tucker, or a Quinn, as more and more parents want to be unique, and sort of give their child

an identity. Also, the world keeps getting weirder and weirder by the day, so many new names

surface as a result of this. One first name that is on the rise is Vanderbilt, as parents are

motivating their child to emulate the success of the prestigious university. Some high standards

on some kids out there right now.

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Work Cited

Welcome to Geni. Family Tree - Geni, www.geni.com/home.

I used my uncles , Erik Swanson, genealogy research that he compiled over the last year.

Chatburn, Lucy. Naming Children: Traditions in 13 Different Countries. PocketCultures,

www.pocketcultures.com/2011/04/13/children-naming-traditions/.