Swayze is an American surname of uncertain origin, usually explained as an anglicized form of the German or Swiss Schweiz, meaning "Swiss" or "from Switzerland". The actor Patrick Swayze of Dirty Dancing and Ghost turned it into a first name, mostly for girls, in the 2010s. Swayze has risen from about number 3470 in 2015 to a peak of number 2032 in 2024 and ranks number 2049 in 2025.