The Sealy surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,564 people carried this name — #9,155 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 82,600 people counted. That is up 4% from 3,439 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Sealy surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a nickname: ‘the seely’ — the first of the origins he gives.

An early record he cites: William Sely, Oxfordshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Seeley, Seely, Sealey, Sealy and Seelye.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 676 · public domain.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Sealy was found among the farmers of Somerset: 17 in every 10,000.

Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent. His list gives one count for the spellings Sealey and Sealy.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Somerset 17

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In print

Sealy in American newspapers,
1899–1927.

Newspaper page from The Bismarck Tribune carrying the name Sealy
The Bismarck Tribune 1926-04-23
Newspaper page from Austin's Hawaiian Weekly carrying the name Sealy
Austin's Hawaiian Weekly 1899-06-24
Newspaper page from South Bend News-times carrying the name Sealy
South Bend News-times 1927-04-17

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

In print

Sealy in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1990s.

5,507 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Sealy. The most, 1,118, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Queensland, at 3.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 3,625
New South Wales 1,034
Victoria 327
South Australia 266
Tasmania 171
Western Australia 60
ACT (Canberra) 15
Northern Territory 1

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

Who carried it

People named Sealy,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Sir John Sealy d. 1899 · barrister
  • Robert Sealy d. 1826
  • Maria Catherine Beecher Sealy d. 1916
  • Marjory Scott Leslie d. 1903
  • Martha Sealy 1720–1760
  • Charles Sealy 1770–1790

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Sealy,
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 States495 records

495 records of the Sealy name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 189
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 87
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 85
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 47
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 46
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 23
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 17
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Eugene M. Sealy

    Born 1919 in New York. Enlisted 1942 at New York City; mechanic from Bronx County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Calverton National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Elizabeth Sealy

    Arrived at New York in 1872 aboard the C.h. Marshall from Liverpool, aged 35; milliner. From England; bound for Connecticut.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record John Thomas Sealy

    U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War. Born 1932, died 1999; buried at Sunset Memorial Park, Barton, Arkansas.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 495 records for Sealy in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · 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, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Australia225 records

225 records of the Sealy name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 81
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 73
  • Tasmanian Names Index 60
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 7
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 4
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record James Broughton Sealy

    Died 1878 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 55. Will registered in Tasmania in 1878.

    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 Samuel Sealy

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Hooghley, arriving 1834; certificate of freedom 1849.

    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 Mary Sealy

    Arrived in Victoria in 1853 aboard the Lochiel, aged 35; Irish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 225 records for Sealy in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). 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).

Canada23 records

23 records of the Sealy name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 19
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 3
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  1. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Edward Sealy

    Served in the No. 2 Construction Battalion in the First World War, sergeant; of Constabulary Depot, Trinidad, British West Indies.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Frederick William Sealy

    Died 1938; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record Eva Marion Sealy

    Born 1901 in Kentville, Kings, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 23 records for Sealy in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom2 records

2 records of the Sealy 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 R. F. Sealy

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

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record V. W. Sealy

    London 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).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Sealy name in the Netherlands Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Frances Ella Barton Sealy

    Married in 1932 in Landsmeer.

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Other spellings of this name

The same name, spelled another way.

Spellings that H. B. Guppy (England and Wales, 1890) or the Registrar-General for Ireland (births index of 1890) counted as one name together with Sealy.

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Sealy.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Sealy 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 Sealy volume
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