2000
#3,645
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,960
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.32
Uncommon Last name
Seal
An occupational surname for a person who hunts seals or sells sealskins.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,016 Americans carry the last name Seal. That puts it at #3,946 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.92 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 34,221 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Seal surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Seal with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
10K
1 in 34,221
Census rank
#3,946
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.7K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,734 bearers of the surname Seal in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.92 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3946th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Seal, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Seal
The surname SEAL originated in England and dates back to the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word 'sæl', meaning a salt-making settlement or a homestead near a salt marsh. The name was likely an occupational name for someone who lived near or worked in a salt marsh or salt works.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname SEAL can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire from the year 1176, where it is listed as 'Sele'. In the Domesday Book of 1086, there are several references to places with names like 'Sela' and 'Sele', which may have been the origins of the surname.
In the 13th century, the name appeared in various forms such as 'de Sele', 'atte Sele', and 'Sele'. These variations suggest that the name was associated with specific places or settlements. For instance, the village of Seal in Kent, England, was known as 'Sele' in the Domesday Book.
Notable bearers of the SEAL surname include William Seal (1493-1568), who was an English Protestant reformer and Bishop of Peterborough. Another notable figure was John Seal (1575-1632), an English clergyman and author who served as Rector of Clerkenwell in London.
In the 17th century, the SEAL surname can be found in various records, such as the marriage of William Seal and Elizabeth Smith in 1632 in Tottenham, Middlesex. During this period, the name also appeared in the form 'Seale', as evidenced by the birth record of John Seale in 1654 in Weston, Hertfordshire.
Other notable individuals with the SEAL surname include Sir Henry Seal (1779-1849), a British naval officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars, and Thomas Seal (1833-1920), an English cricketer who played for Nottinghamshire.
The surname SEAL continued to be found throughout England and later spread to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia, as a result of migration and colonization.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Seal
Among Census respondents with the surname Seal, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Seal bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Seal surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.0% · 7,686
- Two or more races3.6% · 316
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 261
- Black or African American2.7% · 234
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 176
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 61
Timeline
Historical Census data for Seal
Seal appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#3,797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,316
+356 bearers (+4.0%)
Per 100,000 3.16
Rank movement Down 152 places
2020
#3,946
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,734
-582 bearers (-6.2%)
Per 100,000 2.92
Rank movement Down 149 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,645 | 8,960 | 3.32 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,797 | 9,316 | 3.16 | +356 bearers (+4.0%) | Down 152 places |
| 2020 | #3,946 | 8,734 | 2.92 | -582 bearers (-6.2%) | Down 149 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Seal surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #3,797 | #3,946 | -3.9% |
| Count | 9,316 | 8,734 | -6.2% |
| Per 100K | 3.16 | 2.92 | -7.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Seal bearers went from 9,316 to 8,734 (-6.2% change). The surname moved down 149 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,797 to #3,946.
FAQ
Seal surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Seal?
Name Census estimates that about 10,016 living Americans carry the surname Seal. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 34,221 residents.
How common is Seal?
Seal ranks #3,946 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.92 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,734 people with the surname Seal. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,016), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.92 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.92 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Seal.
Has Seal become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Seal went from 9,316 recorded bearers to 8,734. That is a decrease of 582 (-6.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,797 to #3,946.
What does the Census say about the background of Seal?
Among Census respondents with the surname Seal, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Seal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.0% (7,686 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Seal appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.0%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Hispanic (3.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Seal (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Seal mean?
An occupational surname for a person who hunts seals or sells sealskins. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Seal (2.92 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Seal?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Seal, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.