He was christened as Rychard Swayn on September 21, 1595, Berkshire, England, the name RIchard Swayne was used until he moved to Nantucket from the mainland.
In most instances the name Swayne or Swaine is derived from the Old Norse word sveinn which meant "boy, servant peasant" depending on its use in the sentence. It came to England with Danes and Norwegians and was altered there to suein, suen, swan, etc. Sveinn was first used as a descriptive term before beoming a surname. Burke's Armory describes the Coat-of-arms for one Swain, one Swain or Swaine, one Swaine and four Swaynes...each of them different. According to some authorities RIchard Swayne of St. Albans, England who came to America in 1635, living first at Rowley, Massachusetts Bay in 1635, and then at Hampton in New Hampshire, was in line with William Swayne of Salisbury, England, granted the Coat-of-arms, June 20, 1444, later confirmed by a descendant of the same name, of London, in 1612. This is the same Coat-of-arms found in Scotland in 1100, but without the Motto.
