(First Post - Sorry, my German is not so good, this is my husband's family, but there is always Google Translate.)
Hello,
I understand that the spelling of the town of Schwaan is a North Saxon spelling, but a Google Book search shows many historians used both Schwaan and Schwan, along with Schwaen, Sywan, Zywan, Syuuan, Sewan, Zwan, Sowane, Sivan, and Svan.
Are both Schwaan and Schwan still used, or only Schwaan? (Do the town signs have both names?) Does anyone know the history of the name changes? When did Sywan/Zywan change to Schwan or Schwaan? Wikipedia says the town seal was received in 1606. In which town name was it received, and from whom?
There are also many stories about where the town name came from. The "goddess Siva" is mentioned most, but I even found one book that mentions a Slavic word "sywan" = German "grau." Does anyone know of any _new_ research about the town name since the 1894 "Mecklenburgische Vaterlandskunde" by Wilhelm Raabe? The Stadt Schwaan (www.schwaan.de) gives some new historical information in their "Stadtgeschichte" but only says the place name is Slavic and does not give any sources (Quellen).
I hope there are not too many questions here at one time. I want our children to know where their name came from.
Thank you,
Chris Swan