Seals
Usually a variant of Seal, most often from a place-name meaning “at the sale” or “by the hall,” with later spelling added -s.
The #2,299 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 19,469 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally treated as a variant of Seal or Sale. In the old English place-name element sele, the word meant “hall,” and names like atte Sele could describe someone living by a hall or manor house. Some later spellings also reflect the habit of adding -s to surnames, as in Sales.
History
Bardsley specifically notes Seals as a later form of Seal and connects it with local surnames from places called Seal in Leicestershire, Surrey, and Kent. The name is recorded in medieval-style forms such as John atte Sele. In the United States, Seals has become a familiar surname spelling, but it remains comparatively uncommon.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bardsley treats Seals and Sales as parallel spelling developments from older local surnames, showing how a simple plural-looking ending could grow out of medieval name forms.
From the historical record
“London, 4 ; Baton (U.S.), 4. Beol, BaaLe, Seel, Seals.— (i) kocai, 'M the aele,' i.e. Sale, q.v. A variant Just >s Sale 19 found as Sales, 10 Seal has become Seals, (a) Local, 'of Seal,' parishes in cos, Leicester, Surrey, and Kent.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances