How common is the surname Seal?

9,316 people in the United States had the surname Seal in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 33,141 Americans. It ranked 3,797th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Seal?

Barry Seals, American drug smuggler (1939–1986), followed by Elizabeth Seal.

Where is the surname Seal most common?

Wikidata records people named Seal in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Is the surname Seal getting more or less common?

More common. 8,960 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 9,316 in 2010, up 4.0%.

The surname Seal

A French occupational surname, carried by 9,316 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex S400

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Seal is more common than 97.7% of them.

Origin

French origin

* As an English surname, spelling variant of Sale. * As an occupational English surname, related to seal. * As an occupational English surname, from Old French sele (“saddle”). * As an English nickname-derived surname, from seal (the animal). * As a Jewish surname, spelling variant or semantic loan of Siegel.

Seal is an occupational surname: named after the work an ancestor did.

One of 791 French surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 9,316 people named Seal in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 33,141 Americans. That is up 4.0% since 2000, when the Census counted 8,960.

#3,797

rank among US surnames

9,316

people in 2010

3.2

per 100,000 Americans

+4%

change since 2000 (was #3,645)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#3,788	Tarver	9,341	33,053
#3,789	Clough	9,339	33,060
#3,790	Hennessy	9,338	33,063
#3,791	Rosenbaum	9,333	33,081
#3,792	Stull	9,324	33,113
#3,793	Bolen	9,323	33,117
#3,794	Reno	9,322	33,120

Who is named Seal

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

91% of people named Seal identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.3% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.1% as Asian and Pacific Islander.

White (not Hispanic) 91%
Black (not Hispanic) 2.3%
Asian and Pacific Islander 2.1%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.1%
Two or more races 1.7%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.9%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Seals

2 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Barry Seals
American drug smuggler (1939–1986)
Elizabeth Seal
British actress, born 1933

Notable Seals come mostly from the United States (1) and the United Kingdom (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Seal

Seal has the Soundex code S400, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code S400.

Other French surnames

All 791 French surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Seal come from?: * As an English surname, spelling variant of Sale. * As an occupational English surname, related to seal. * As an occupational English surname, from Old French sele (“saddle”). * As an English nickname-derived surname, from seal (the animal). * As a Jewish surname, spelling variant or semantic…
How common is the surname Seal?: 9,316 people in the United States had the surname Seal in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 33,141 Americans. It ranked 3,797th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Seal?: In the 2010 Census, 91% of people named Seal identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.3% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Seal?: Barry Seals, American drug smuggler (1939–1986), followed by Elizabeth Seal.
Where is the surname Seal most common?: Wikidata records people named Seal in the United States and the United Kingdom.
What type of surname is Seal?: Seal is an occupational surname, named after the work an ancestor did.
Is the surname Seal getting more or less common?: More common. 8,960 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 9,316 in 2010, up 4.0%.