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

Seo, 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 Seo surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Seo in America

Seo is the 4998th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Seo surname appeared 7,033 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Seo.

We can also compare 2010 data for Seo 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 Seo

The surname SEO originated in Korea, where it has been a common family name for centuries. It is derived from the Korean word "seo," which means "west" or "western." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to people who lived in or came from the western regions of the Korean peninsula.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the SEO surname can be found in the Samguk Sagi, a historical record of the Three Kingdoms period in Korea (57 BC - 935 AD). The book mentions a figure named SEO Hui, who lived during the Silla Kingdom in the 7th century AD.

During the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), the SEO surname gained prominence as several members of the family held important government positions. One notable figure was SEOGeon (1041-1098), a renowned scholar and poet who served as a high-ranking official during the reign of King Goryeo.

In the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897), the SEO family continued to play a significant role in Korean society. SEO Jiksu (1631-1695) was a prominent Neo-Confucian scholar and writer, while SEO Sang-don (1552-1618) was a respected military leader and strategist.

Moving into more recent history, SEO Chang-hee (1909-1986) was a prominent South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the country's Prime Minister from 1960 to 1961. Another notable figure was SEO Sang-won (1931-2018), a renowned South Korean writer and novelist who won numerous literary awards throughout his career.

While the SEO surname is most common in Korea, there are also small communities of SEO families in other parts of East Asia, likely descended from Korean immigrants or travelers from centuries past. However, the name remains deeply rooted in Korean culture and history, with its origins tracing back to the ancient kingdoms of the Korean peninsula.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Seo

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

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 Seo 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 Seo 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 Seo was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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