The Steel surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,111 people carried this name — #4,949 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 41,500 people counted. That is up 4% from 6,813 in 2000.

See Steel on the map Look up another surname

Share

What the name means

The meaning of the Steel surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Steel’.

An early record he cites: Robert Stele, Lincolnshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Steel, Steele, Stell and Stelle.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 715 · public domain.

In Belgium’s population register

At least 92 people named Steel live in Belgium.

Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in East Flanders.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

East Flanders 47
Antwerp 27
West Flanders 13
Walloon Brabant 5

Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

20 people named Steel live in Switzerland.

They live in 4 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Vaud 7
Geneva 5
Valais 5
Ticino 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Steel was found among the farmers of 5 counties.

It was most frequent in Cumberland and Westmorland: 60 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 167. 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 Steel and Steele.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Cumberland and Westmorland 60
Staffordshire 26
Cheshire 24
Yorkshire, West Riding 15
Suffolk 7

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 Scotland, 1880s

Steel was 26 in every 10,000 names in Scotland.

That is about 1 in 385. Its home there, in Guppy’s words: “South of the Forth and the Clyde.” He counted the more than 20,000 names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, taking Scotland as a whole, and listed only the names that reached 10 in every 10,000.

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), appendix: alphabetical list of the most frequent Scottish names, p. 594 — public domain · names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, per 10,000 for the whole country.

In Scotland’s registers today

Steel was recorded 68 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 393rd most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 137. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

290 families named Steel, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 1,633 people lived in those households, 5.6 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 8 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Pennsylvania 96
Connecticut 46
South Carolina 27
Maryland 24
New Hampshire 20
Massachusetts 19
North Carolina 18
Virginia 12
New York 11
Vermont 9
Maine 7
Rhode Island 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 263 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Steel in American newspapers,
1898–1909.

Newspaper page from Fergus County Argus carrying the name Steel
Fergus County Argus 1898-04-13
Newspaper page from The Billings Gazette carrying the name Steel
The Billings Gazette 1906-03-30
Newspaper page from Ellsworth American carrying the name Steel
Ellsworth American 1909-04-28

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 5,806 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Steel in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

56,186 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Steel. The most, 7,911, date from the 1930s. 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 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 23,237
Victoria 14,434
Queensland 6,429
Tasmania 5,191
South Australia 3,705
Western Australia 2,653
ACT (Canberra) 421
Northern Territory 27

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

Who carried it

People named Steel,
with a public archive behind them.

  • George Albert Steel d. 1891 · photographer
  • Eveline Edith Steel d. 1893
  • Elizabeth Ensor d. 1995
  • Grace Strang d. 1888
  • Florence Elphinstone Ford d. 1936
  • Sheila Eunice Nanette Martin d. 1993

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

In the public record

People named Steel,
in the records of 9 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 States1,690 records

1,690 records of the Steel name in the United States
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 682
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 307
  • Other U.S. records 701
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Joseph M. Steel

    Born 1912 in New Jersey. Enlisted 1942 at Newark; housekeeper. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2000, buried at BG William C Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Wrightstown, New Jersey.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Robert A. Steel

    Born 1920 in Minnesota. Enlisted 1941 at Fort Snelling; bank clerk from Hennepin County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1967, buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minnesota.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Richard T. Steel

    Born 1909 in New York. Enlisted 1942 at New York City, from Queens County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1961, buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 1,690 records for Steel in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain).

Australia2,069 records

2,069 records of the Steel name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1,178
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 314
  • Other Australian records 577
  1. 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 Thomas Wilson Steel

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Eden, sailing from Woolwich in 1842. Native of Glasgow, Lanarkshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1846.

    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 Sarah Steel

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Garland Grove, sailing from London in 1841. Native of Sheffield, Yorkshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1845.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Michael Steel

    Died 1899 in Fingal, Tasmania, aged 68. Will registered in Tasmania in 1900.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 2,069 records for Steel in Australia.

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

Netherlands509 records

509 records of the Steel name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 251
  • Dutch population registers 218
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 40
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Francisca Steel

    Married in 1848 in Zuiddorpe; labourer. Died 1881 in Zuiddorpe, aged 79.

    Open Archives, Zeeuws Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Antonius Steel

    Born 1892 in Etten-Leur. Died 1892 in Etten-Leur.

    Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Nathalia Steel

    Born 1879 in Axel. Died 1940 in Haarlemmermeer, aged 61.

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

Showing 3 of 509 records for Steel in the Netherlands.

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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada210 records

210 records of the Steel name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 123
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 19
  • Other Canadian records 68
  1. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Mary Steel

    Left New York in 1783 aboard the Joseph, bound for Annapollis Royal, aged 24.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Robt Steel

    Came to Ontario in 1879 aboard the Sarmatian, landing at Quebec, bound for Wingham, Ontario; Scotch.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Barry Steel

    Buried in 1986 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 46.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.

Showing 3 of 210 records for Steel in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom123 records

123 records of the Steel name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 58
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 47
  • Other British records 18
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record John Steel

    Born 1894 at Forres; clerk. Served in the First World War. Named in the Morayshire roll of honour (1921).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record David Steel

    Died 1978, aged 51; buried at Kippen Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ann Steel

    Buried in 1804 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 28.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 123 records for Steel in the United Kingdom.

Counts: Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (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); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

New Zealand57 records

57 records of the Steel name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 50
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 5
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 2
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Patrick Campbell Steel

    Died 1993, aged 73; buried at Belfast Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Dorothy Agnes Steel

    Died 1997, aged 78; buried at Fairhall Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Elizabeth Mary Steel

    Died 1908, aged 76; buried at Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 57 records for Steel in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Marlborough District 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).

Belgium5 records

5 records of the Steel name in Belgium Belgian civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Maria Steel

    Died 1951 in Gent.

    Open Archives, Archief Gent (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Justina Steel

    Died 1911 in Gent.

    Open Archives, Archief Gent (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 5 records for Steel in Belgium.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

France2 records

2 records of the Steel name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Gerard Leon Benjamin Steel

    Born 1921 in Grenoble (Isère); died 1976 in Noisy-le-Grand (Seine-Saint-Denis).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 1 of 2 records for Steel in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Germany2 records

2 records of the Steel name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Reinhold Steel

    From Burkersdorf. Reported wounded in the Saxon casualty list of 13 October 1916 (Leib Grenadier Regiment No. 100).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 1 of 2 records for Steel in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

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 Steel.

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Steel.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Steel 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 Steel volume
Scroll to Top