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

Seol, 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 Seol surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Seol in America

Seol is the 73666th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Seol surname appeared 263 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Seol.

We can also compare 2010 data for Seol 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 Seol

The surname SEOL originated in Korea during the 7th century AD. It is derived from the Old Korean word 'seol', meaning 'snow' or 'frost'. The name was initially adopted by families residing in the northern mountainous regions of the Korean peninsula, where the winters were particularly harsh and snowy.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the SEOL name can be found in the Samguk Sagi, a historical record of the Three Kingdoms period (57 BC - 935 AD) in ancient Korea. This text references a noble family with the surname SEOL who served as advisors to the Silla royal court.

During the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), the SEOL surname gained prominence as several members of the family held high-ranking positions in the government and military. Notable figures from this era include SEOL Gwan (1084-1144), a respected scholar and poet, and SEOL Yeong (1109-1180), a celebrated general who led Goryeo forces against the Jurchen invaders.

In the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897), the SEOL family continued to play an influential role in Korean society. SEOL Sang-hun (1457-1512) was a renowned Confucian scholar and author, while SEOL Hui (1539-1615) was a prominent diplomat and statesman who helped negotiate peace treaties with neighboring countries.

The SEOL surname also has ties to several notable place names in Korea. The village of Seolchon, located in present-day Seoul, was originally named after a SEOL family who were among its earliest inhabitants. Similarly, the town of Seolak-myeon in Gangwon Province is believed to have derived its name from the presence of SEOL families in the area.

Other significant individuals bearing the SEOL surname include SEOL Hee-sang (1693-1737), a celebrated calligrapher and artist; SEOL Yoon-hyung (1828-1903), a prominent educator and reformer during the late Joseon period; and SEOL Sang-won (1901-1968), a respected novelist and poet who played a crucial role in the development of modern Korean literature.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Seol

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Seol, 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!