Find out how popular the last name Sealey is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Sealey.

Sealey, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Sealey surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sealey in America

Sealey is the 8934th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sealey surname appeared 3,665 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Sealey.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sealey to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Sealey

The surname Sealey is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "sæl," meaning "hall" or "dwelling." It is believed to have emerged in the 13th century, initially referring to someone who lived near or maintained a hall or manor house.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, where a William de la Sale is mentioned. This spelling variation, "de la Sale," indicates the locational nature of the surname, denoting "of the hall."

In the 14th century, the surname appeared in various forms, such as Sele, Selle, and Sealy, reflecting the evolving spellings of the time. The Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327 list a Richard de la Sele, while the Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire from 1379 record a John Saleman, potentially a variation of the name.

One of the earliest notable individuals bearing the surname was William Sele, a 14th-century English clergyman who served as the Archdeacon of Winchester from 1349 to 1369.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name continued to appear in various records, including the Protestation Returns of 1641-1642, which list several individuals with the surname Sealey in counties such as Somerset and Wiltshire.

In the 18th century, the Sealey surname gained prominence with the birth of Sir John Sealey (1719-1799), an English lawyer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Heytesbury and Salisbury.

Another notable figure was Thomas Sealey (1785-1875), a British Royal Navy officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars and received various honors, including the Naval General Service Medal.

In the 19th century, the Sealey surname was associated with several prominent figures, such as John Sealey (1810-1886), a British architect responsible for designing several churches and public buildings in London.

Samuel Sealey (1828-1904) was a British artist known for his landscape paintings, while Robert Sealey (1858-1924) was a renowned English cricketer who played for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club.

Sealey is also a variant spelling of the surname, and some notable individuals with this variation include John Sealey (1715-1795), an English actor and playwright who wrote several popular plays in the 18th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sealey

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Sealey.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Sealey was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Sealey has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Sealey was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Sealey, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!