Surname Swirsky - Meaning and Origin

Swirsky: What does the surname Swirsky mean?

The last name “Swirsky” is of East European Jewish origin and is believed to mean “swivel” or “to flow around” in Yiddish. It was likely derived from the Yiddish word “shvarz”, meaning “black”, a reference to a person’s complexion or even to a Jewish family’s location near a river or stream. Over time, it appeared in different spellings including: Schwarsky, Svirski, Svirskey, Svirskiy, and Swirsky.

Most people with the Swirsky surname first settled in Lithuania, Poland, Latvia or Belarus, where they practiced Judaism and often spoke Yiddish. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many families immigrated to the United States and Great Britain, continuing to practice the Jewish faith.

Today, those bearing the family name Swirsky are found throughout the world. In the United States, its distribution is most concentrated in California, followed by New York and Florida. Those bearing the Swirsky surname may often be found exhibiting artistic interests or working in creative fields, likely a tangible link to their Yiddish and Eastern European heritage.

Swirsky: Where does the name Swirsky come from?

The last name Swirsky is most commonly found in Russia. The name is a variation of the more popular Russian last name Svirsky. The surname is derived from the Russian given name Svyatoslav, which translates to "fame" and "glory".

Swirsky is the 68,472nd most common surname in the world, according to the global genealogy website Ancestry.com. In Russia, Swirsky is most commonly found in the central and northwestern regions of the country, including Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tver, and Kostroma. There is also a small but growing population of Swirskys in other parts of the world, particularly the United States, Canada, and Israel.

In terms of the earliest recorded usage of the Swirsky surname, references date back to the mid-19th century in Russia. In America, Swirskys began to appear in records during the turn of the 20th century. Today, the majority of Swirskys live in Russia, although there are significant populations in the United States, Canada, and Israel as well.

Variations of the surname Swirsky

Swirsky is an Ashkenazic Jewish surname and can also be spelled as Swersky, Schwersky and Swirski, all of which are derived from a Polish-Yiddish variant surnamed Svirsky. This pronunciation however, is slightly different and can also be spelled as Shvirsky, Svirski, Shvirsky or Schwirski. All these variants of the same surname have their origin in the Polish, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Russian and Jewish surname Svirsky.

The surname Svirsky was derived from the name of a village, in Belarusian called Svyrsk or Sversk. In Northern Poland, it was most likely also known as Swarzec or Svyarzec. The name of the village ultimately stems from the old Slavic elements svyr or svyar meaning “place”, “land”, “home”; and the Slavic-by suffix -sk (or -szcz). This suffix is a form of the Polish possessive particle, which also indicates a location.

The elevated suffix of -sky was added by the Ashkenazic Jews when this surname was adopted as part of their language. This suffix is derived from the Old East Slavic occurence of ky which was used as a patronymic to mark proper nouns or indicating ‘of’ or ‘descended from’.

Hence, the different spellings and surnames of Swirsky, Schwersky, Swirski, Shvirsky, Svirski, Shvirsky and Schwirski are all derived from the same origin in the old Slavic elements svyr or svyar and the suffix -sky and Old East Slavic ‘ky’, taking in account the Polish-Yiddish spelling variant.

Famous people with the name Swirsky

• Richard Swirsky: Senior Vice President of Finance for the Education Corporation of America.
• Michael J. Swirsky: An award-winning American composer and theatre artist.
• Josh Swirsky: An Investment Banker and philanthropist.
• Phil Swirsky: A TV & Radio Personality, Entrepreneur, Author and Consultant in the Telecom industry.
• Jesse Swirsky: An American professional basketball player.
• Jason Swirsky: A Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Producer.
• Dawn Swirsky: A Marketing and Communications professional.
• David Swirsky: A New York-based Commercial Real Estate Executive.
• John Swirsky: A Professional Motivational Speaker, Public Relations Consultant, and Business Coach.
• David Swirsky- Arbitrator and expert witness for Commercial and Construction disputes.

Other surnames

Swirski