Seys last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Seys

A Flemish surname derived from the old French word "seys" meaning six, possibly indicating a family of six people or someone born sixth in a family.

Seys, 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 Seys surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Seys in America

Seys is the 91221st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Seys surname appeared 202 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 Seys.

We can also compare 2010 data for Seys 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.

20102000Change (%)
Rank9122191801-0.63%
Count2021868.25%
Proportion per 100k0.070.070.00%

The history of the last name Seys

The surname SEYS has its origins in England during the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old French word 'seis', meaning 'six'. This was likely an occupational surname given to someone who worked as a tax collector or assessor, responsible for collecting a sixth part of taxes or dues.

The earliest recorded instances of the name SEYS can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, where it appears as 'Seys'. This suggests the name was already well-established in England by the 13th century. It is also mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, indicating its spread throughout various regions of the country.

In the 14th century, the SEYS surname is documented in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire from 1317. This record mentions a William Seys, who may have been a landowner or tenant in the area. Around the same period, a John Seys is listed in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1348, indicating the name's presence in the southwest of England.

In the 15th century, the SEYS surname appears in the Inquisitions Post Mortem of Somerset from 1436, where a Thomas Seys is mentioned. This suggests the name had spread to the southwest of England by this time. The surname is also found in the Subsidy Rolls of Warwickshire from 1484, further demonstrating its widespread distribution across various counties.

Notable individuals with the SEYS surname include Sir John Seys (c. 1350 - 1420), a prominent English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for Worcestershire. Another notable figure was Richard Seys (c. 1460 - 1528), a wealthy merchant and alderman from Bristol, known for his philanthropic contributions to the city.

The SEYS surname has also been recorded with various spellings over the centuries, such as Seys, Seyes, Seies, and Saise. These variations reflect the inconsistencies in spelling and pronunciation during the medieval and early modern periods.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Seys

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

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 Seys was:

Race/EthnicityPercentageTotal Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only95.54%193
Non-Hispanic Black Only(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only0.00%0
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native0.00%0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races(S)%(S)
Hispanic Origin2.48%5

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 Seys has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

20102000Change (%)
White95.54%98.39%-2.94%
Black(S)%(S)%(S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander0.00%0.00%0.00%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.00%0.00%0.00%
Two or More Races(S)%0.00%(S)%
Hispanic2.48%(S)%(S)%

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

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

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