Researching Jonathan Swift
Investigate the background of Jonathan Swift using the links below. We hope you find this information useful!
![]() | Did you know that in the 1881 UK census there were 9249 people with the Swift surname? In that year Swift was ranked number 443 for popularity in the UK. |
Good news! There is already a One Name Study on the Swift surname.

The name Jonathan means "God gives" and is of Hebrew origin.
Records of Jonathan Swift on Ancestry
Ancestry is a major source of information if you are filling out the detail of Jonathan Swift in your family tree. A vast range of data is available to search ranging from census records, births, deaths and marriages, military records and immigration records to name but a few. Free trials are normally available and are a good way to fill out a lot of your tree quickly.
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Ancestry.com Global records search results for Jonathan Swift. |
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Ancestry.com US records search results for Jonathan Swift. |
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Ancestry.co.uk UK records search results for Jonathan Swift. |
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Ancestry.ca Canadian records search results for Jonathan Swift. |
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Ancestry.com.au Australian records search results for Jonathan Swift. |
DNA
Sometimes you can run into a brick wall in your tree and you just don't have enough evidence to make that next step back in time. If you are lucky then you may find some previously undiscovered Swift ancestors. Additionally, the modern DNA test can give you a breakdown of your ethnic mix - you may be surprised at the results!
Have you reached a brick wall in your Swift Tree?
Birth, Death and Marriage Records for Jonathan Swift and the Swift Family History
Birth, Death and Marriage records are often the best method of making the links to the Swift Genealogy that will form part of your family tree. Although records vary from country to country, they are normally the most formal record of a person's relations. From the sources below you will be able to find a birth record and, from that, a birth certificate can be ordered which lists the names of the mother and father, taking you back another generation in your tree. A marriage certificate may also list the names of the respective fathers of the bride and groom which may then help you to find them earlier in life on a census record enabling you to fill out more detail in the Swift family tree.
Investigate Parish Records for Jonathan Swift at Find My Past.
Study for the UK registered births, marriages and deaths of Jonathan Swift using the FreeBMD database.
Search Genealogy Bank for Jonathan Swift records.
Study MyHeritage for Jonathan Swift information.
Check out the LDS Database for records about Jonathan Swift.
Research the Swift surname using fold3 Military Archives and view images of original Swift Military records.
![]() | Did you know that there are currently 12186 people with the Swift surname in the UK? Swift is now ranked number 467 for popularity in the UK. |
Swift Family History Databases
Another way to build your tree quickly is to use the research other people have already done. This can help to confirm or refute your own deductions - however, be wary of taking this data at face value as other researchers may not have been as meticulous as you. Always try to back up deductions with some definitive sources rather than relying too heavily on others.
Investigate the WikiTree database for user contributed records for Jonathan Swift.
Study MyTrees for information on the Swift family and people looking to contact living Swift relations.
Look at One Great Family for Swift records submitted by people who are already researching the Swift Family Tree.
Find Jonathan Swift from Ireland on findmypast.ie
Swift Forums
There are a number of forums which are dedicated to rearching particular surnames. These can be good places to share your findings and also to tap into the knowledge that others may already have. These can sometimes be a good way of finding living relations as these tend not to show up on the other sources of information for privacy reasons.
Research the Swift surname using Genealogy.com forums .
![]() | Did you know that there are currently 27344 people with the Swift surname in the USA? Swift is ranked number 148 for popularity in the USA. |
Miscellaneous Swift Databases
Explore the Ellis Island Database for information on Jonathan Swift. This database contains over 25 million immigration records detailing passengers arriving in the United States of America.
Some Famous People called Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, hence his common sobriquet, "Dean Swift".
Swift is remembered for works such as A Tale of a Tub (1704), An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity (1712), Gulliver's Travels (1726), and A Modest Proposal (1729). He is regarded by the Encyclopædia Britannica as the foremost prose satirist in the English language, and is less well known for his poetry. He originally published all of his works under pseudonyms—such as Lemuel Gulliver, Isaac Bickerstaff, M. B. Drapier—or anonymously. He was a master of two styles of satire, the Horatian and Juvenalian styles.
His deadpan, ironic writing style, particularly in A Modest Proposal, has led to such satire being subsequently termed "Swiftian".
Source: Jonathan Swift, Wikipedia, The Free EncyclopediaOther names that sound a bit like Swift
Family names can get corrupted over time, particularly where literacy was not as good. The following list contains some names that have similar sounds so you may want to also look at one or two of the more likely possibilites.
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