The Seals surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 15,858 people carried this name — #2,299 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 18,600 people counted. That is up 6% from 15,020 in 2000.

Look up another surname

Share

What the name means

The meaning of the Seals surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘at the sele’ — the first of the origins he gives.

His entry covers Seal, Seale, Seel and Seals.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 675 · public domain.

In print

Seals in American newspapers,
1921.

Newspaper page from Baptist Courier carrying the name Seals
Baptist Courier 1921-11-10

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Seals in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1960s.

881 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Seals. The most, 158, date from the 1920s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Tasmania, at 1.9 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 238
Victoria 208
Queensland 152
Tasmania 126
Western Australia 88
South Australia 57
ACT (Canberra) 4
Northern Territory 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Seals.

Who carried it

People named Seals,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Carl H. Seals
    Carl H. Seals 1883–1955 · banker
  • Jim Seals
    Jim Seals 1942–2022 · actor
  • Dan Seals
    Dan Seals 1948–2009 · composer
  • Bruce Seals
    Bruce Seals 1953–2020 · basketball player
  • Son Seals 1942–2004 · composer
  • Ray Seals 1965–2025 · American football player

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Seals,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States723 records

723 records of the Seals name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 441
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 202
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 50
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 11
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 8
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 5
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 2
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record James C. Seals

    Born 1907 in Texas. Enlisted 1942 at Houston; yardman from Harris County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1978, buried at Houston National Cemetery, Texas.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Clifford Seals

    Born 1949; from Eufaula, Oklahoma. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1969 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Carl Seals

    Arrived at New York in 1870 aboard the Admiral from Bremen, aged 27; farmer. From Prussia, Germany; bound for Wisconsin.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 723 records for Seals in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia35 records

35 records of the Seals name in Australia
  • Tasmanian Names Index 16
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 11
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 5
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 2
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 1
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record John Seals

    Died 1880 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 59. Will registered in Tasmania in 1880.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Robert Seals

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Pekoe, arriving 1840; ticket of leave 1845.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Sl Seals

    Arrived in Victoria in 1862 aboard the Omeo, aged 56.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 35 records for Seals in Australia.

Counts: Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada31 records

31 records of the Seals name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 30
  • Halifax municipal cemeteries 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Annabelle Seals

    Buried in 1967 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 93.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Annabelle Seals

    Died 1967 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record William Seals

    Married 1892 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 31 records for Seals in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

New Zealand1 record

1 record of the Seals name in New Zealand Christchurch City cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Seals

    Died 1889, aged 58; buried at Addington Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Seals name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. Seals

    Middlesex Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Seals.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Seals is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Seals volume
Scroll to Top