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Genealogy of the Swayne Family in Scotland

Origin of the name Swayne

Swynne, Swayne or Swaine: " A Scandinavian personal name of great antiquity, introduced in England under the Danish rule. Domesday shows us several persons, tenants in chief or otherwise, called Svain, Suain, Suanus, Snuen, Sueno or Swen, some of whom are specifically stated to have held lands under Edward the Confessor. Suain of Essex, supposed by Morant to have been of Danish origin, was ancestor of the famous Henry of Essex, tem. Henry II. The forms in the Rotuli Hundredorum are: Le Swein, and Sweyn, Le Sweyn"

From "Patronymica Britannica: A Dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom" by Mark Antony Lower, page 385, edition 1860

Swayne Crest: "Arg three boars pass sa. armed or. Crest a boars head arg"

From Burke's General Armory, page 991, William Berry's   Encyclopoedia Heraldica and Robson's British Herald.

Appreciation

The information in this page is extracted from the research work carried-out by the late  Guillermo Swayne y Mendoza, grandson of Henry Wallace Swayne, in the first part of this century and published in the book "Mis Antepasados" in  Lima, Peru in 1950. This book contains detailed information on the Swaynes of Dysart, Fifeshire, Scotland and other families related to the Swaynes. Mr. Swayne spent a lot of time, effort and resources in documenting  the birth and marriage certificates of his ancestors and we are grateful for his work in passing it to future generations of Swaynes.

Guillermo Swayne y Mendoza

The Swaynes in this page were originally from the small town of Dysart, in the region of Fife in Scotland. Dysart (dye-sart) means "A place of retirement for religious purposes" in Gaelic. Dysart was a very prosperous port before the Union (1707) producing wheat, potato, oats, hay, turnip and barley crops; cattle, horses, iron and limestone quarries; it also had linen and flax spinning mills. Following its demise in the 1800's Dysart was annexed to the burgh of Kirkcaldy.