How common is the surname Selway?

441 people in the United States had the surname Selway in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 700,103 Americans. It ranked 47,966th of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname Selway?

In the 2010 Census, 93% of people named Selway identified as white (not Hispanic), and 3.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Is the surname Selway getting more or less common?

More common. 399 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 441 in 2010, up 11%.

Is Selway also a first name?

Yes. Selway is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Selway

An English patronymic surname, carried by 441 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex S400

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Selway is more common than 70.4% of them.

Origin

English origin

From the Middle English personal name Salewi, probably from an unattested Old English personal name *Sǣlwīġ, composed of the elements sǣl (“happiness, prosperity, opportunity”) and wīġ (“war, battle”).

Selway is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

One of 1,446 English surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 441 people named Selway in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 700,103 Americans. That is up 11% since 2000, when the Census counted 399.

#47,966

rank among US surnames

441

people in 2010

0.1

per 100,000 Americans

+10.5%

change since 2000 (was #49,471)

Who is named Selway

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

93% of people named Selway identified as white (not Hispanic), 3.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 3.0% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 93%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3.2%
Two or more races 3.0%

The Census suppresses very small shares to protect privacy; Black, Asian & Pacific Islander are not shown.

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Selvey
Selvy

Surnames that sound like Selway

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

Other English surnames

All 1,446 English surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Selway come from?: From the Middle English personal name Salewi, probably from an unattested Old English personal name *Sǣlwīġ, composed of the elements sǣl (“happiness, prosperity, opportunity”) and wīġ (“war, battle”).
How common is the surname Selway?: 441 people in the United States had the surname Selway in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 700,103 Americans. It ranked 47,966th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Selway?: In the 2010 Census, 93% of people named Selway identified as white (not Hispanic), and 3.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
What type of surname is Selway?: Selway is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Selway getting more or less common?: More common. 399 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 441 in 2010, up 11%.
What are other spellings of Selway?: Selvey and Selvy.
Is Selway also a first name?: Yes. Selway is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.