In America
To read a much abbreviated history of the Swazee family in America which was prepared to support the settlement of Dorothy Swazee's estate, click here.
About the Name
The current understanding of the name as used in America since the early 1600's is described below.
Spellings within the known family lineage:
Swazee: used by Hubert Wallis to present
Swayzee / Swayze / Swazee: used by Theodore P/H Swazee
Swayze / Swayzee: used by David Jr. of Fairfield, OH /Kalamazoo, MI
Sweezey/ Swesey / Swayze: used by David Sr. of New Jersey / Fairfield, OH
Sweezey: used by Amos and Barnabus of New Jersey / Southhold, New York
Per the B. F. Swasey genealogy published in 1910, family lore indicated the name was of Welsh origin. This lore was examined by the author but the name was ultimately attributed to Franco-Germany origin. It has also been associated with an inland port town in the Dane Law region of northeast England (Cambridgeshire). On the other hand, certain commercial firms have indicate the name hails from English noble John Swale, and is therefore entitled to a coat of arms. I would challenge these various conclusions based on information available at this time. Building on the B. F. Swasey Wales discussion, I believe within this family line the name is solidly connected to a Welsh place name as suggested by reported family lore. Basically, the last name means a Swayze is a descendant of Ancestor X from Swansea in Wales.
Consider:
The first Swayzes' reportedly embarked in Southwest England at a port which is in the same regional area as the Welsh town of Swansea,
Per the name history listed above at the start of the discussion, there is a traceable transition of the root name over nearly 400 years as it became "Americanized", and,
As documented below from Wikipedia, understanding of the name "Swansea":
Swansea is thought to have developed as a Viking trading post. Its English name may derive from Sveinn's island – Old Norse: Sveinsey – the reference to an island may refer either to a bank at the mouth of the River Tawe or to an area of raised ground in marshes.[9] An alternative explanation derives the place name from the Norse personal name Sweyn and ey, which can mean "inlet".[10] This explanation supports the tradition that the city was founded by King Sweyn Forkbeard[11][12] (reigned in Denmark from 986 to 1014). The name is pronounced Swans-y /ˈswɒnzi/), not Swan-sea.[13]
The earliest known form of the modern name, Sweynesse, appears in the first charter, granted sometime between 1158 and 1184 by William de Newburgh, 3rd Earl of Warwick. The charter gave Swansea the status of a borough, granting the townsmen (called burgesses) certain rights to develop the area. In 1215 King John granted a second charter, in which the name appears as Sweyneshe. A town seal which is believed to date from this period names the town as Sweyse.[14][15]
Emphasis added in passage above
The Norse linkage as described above for Swansea would also explain findings by B. F. Swasey for locations in France which have a closely aligned names (Normandy was settled by the Vikings). Similarly, the Dane Law location would also support this Norse conclusion. Basically, these are place names given in honor of a Norse leader or settler in all three locations, much like there are multiple "Washington's" in the United States. In the case of the Swayze clan, an ancestor from a Welsh town so named.