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Seely History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Seely History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Seely is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from happy person who had good fortune. It is derive from the Old English word saelig, meaning happy and blessed. 1

Early listings of the name was typically seen a "sely" and "seli" and was referenced at least twice in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales:

"For sely is that deth, soth for to seyne, That, ofte y- cleped, com'th and endeth peyne"; and

"That Nicholas shal shapen hym a wyle This sely, jalous housbonde to bigyle."

Early Origins of the Seely family

The surname Seely was first found in Somerset where the first listings of name were found as a personal name: Sely atte Bergh; Sely Percy; and Sely Scury. All were found in Kirby's Quest temp. 1 Edward III (during the first year's reign of King Edward III. 2 The one exception of the aforementioned was William Sely.

Early feudal rolls provided the king of the time a method of cataloguing holdings for taxation, but today they provide a glimpse into the wide surname spellings in use through the ages. Richard Seli was listed in Lincolnshire c. 1200; Roger le Seli was found in the Pipe Rolls of 1205 in Herefordshire; Roger Cely in Shropshire in 1255; Richard Sely and John Celi in the Subsidy Rolls for Worcestershire in 1275; and Thomas Zely was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Worcestershire in 1327. Entries were also found as a woman’s name: Sela was listed in the Assize Rolls for Lincolnshire in 1219; Sely filia Nicholai in the Assize Rols for Worcestershire in 1221; and Sely Percy in the Subsidy Rolls for Somerset in 1327. 3

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 has some interesting entries too: William Sely in Oxfordshire; Egidius Sely in Norfolk; and John Sely in Gloucestershire. 4

Early History of the Seely family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Seely research. Another 131 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1602, 1618, 1621, 1623, 1626, 1630, 1668 and 1760 are included under the topic Early Seely History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Seely Spelling Variations

Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, French and other languages became incorporated into English through the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Seely include Cely, Ceeley, Celey, Ceely, Ceiley, Seely, Seeley and others.

Early Notables of the Seely family

More information is included under the topic Early Seely Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Seely Ranking

In the United States, the name Seely is the 4,889^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 5

Seely migration to the United States +

A great wave of immigration to the New World was the result of the enormous political and religious disarray that struck England at that time. Families left for the New World in extremely large numbers. The long journey was the end of many immigrants and many more arrived sick and starving. Still, those who made it were rewarded with an opportunity far greater than they had known at home in England. These emigrant families went on to make significant contributions to these emerging colonies in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants:

Seely Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Robert Seely, who arrived in Massachusetts in 1630 with the Winthrop Fleet
John Seely, who settled in Virginia in 1654
Obadiah Seely, aged 30, who landed in New York in 1679 6

Seely Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Cornelius Seely, who landed in Mississippi in 1798 6

Seely Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John T Seely, aged 24, who arrived in Key West, Fla in 1839 6
E Seely, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 6

Seely migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Seely Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Jacob Seely, who was on record in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1752
Mr. Seth Seely U.E. born in Stamford, Connecticut, USA who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick c. 1783 passenger aboard the Union Transport, he was a Farmer 7
Mr. Seth Seely Jr., U.E. (b. 1767) born in Stamford, Connecticut, USA who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick c. 1783 son of Seth Seely, passenger aboard the Union Transport he was a Farmer, died in 1852 7
Mr. Stewart Seely U.E. born in Connecticut, USA who settled in St. George, Charlotte County, New Brunswick c. 1784 he died in 1838 7
Mr. Ebenezer Seely U.E. (b. 1745) born in Connecticut, USA who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick c. 1784 he died in 1833 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Seely Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

William Seely, aged 20, a farmer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1834 aboard the brig "Preston" from Sligo, Ireland

Seely migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 8

Seely Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Mr. William Seely, (b. 1606), aged 29, British settler travelling from London, England aboard the ship "Alexander" arriving in Barbados in 1635 9

Contemporary Notables of the name Seely (post 1700) +

Joe Seely, American actor who has starred in films and television
Orange Seely (1843-1918), American Mormon pioneer and early settler of Utah
Sybil Seely (1902-1984), American silent film actress
Jeannie Seely (b. 1940), American country music singer
Fred Loring Seely (1871-1942), American newspaperman, chemist, inventor and philanthropist
Jonas Seely, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Seneca County, 1823-24 10
James L. Seely Jr., American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Steuben County 2nd District, 1913-14 10
J. Seely, American politician, U.S. Attorney for Nevada, 1870-75 10
H. B. Seely, American Republican politician, Candidate for Iowa State House of Representatives from Kossuth County, 1950 10
Dave Starr Seely, American Libertarian politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Utah 1st District, 2000 10
... (Another 10 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's retrieved 28th September 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html