Steel History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany
Scotland
Ireland

Etymology of Steel

What does the name Steel mean?

The history of the name Steel goes back 1066 when the Norman Conquest of England occurred. Soon after this event, the name would have been given to a person who was strong or reliable. The surname Steele is a metaphor likening the constitution of its bearer to the hard metal of the same name.

Early Origins of the Steel family

The surname Steel was first found in Cheshire where they held a family seat from very early times where they were Lords of the manor of Giddy Hall near Sandbach, and were granted lands by Duke William of Normandy, their liege Lord, for their distinguished assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D.

They were conjecturally descended from Bigot de Loges, a Norman noble who attended King William at the Battle of Hastings. However, William the Conqueror suppressing an uprising by his northern nobles in 1070, laid waste all of Sandbach, a large district in Cheshire, and the family moved north to Scotland.

Early History of the Steel family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Steel research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1259, 1524, 1610, 1616, 1629, 1637, 1643, 1662, 1672, 1680, 1692, 1697, 1729 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Steel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Steel Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries. For that reason, spelling variations are common among many Anglo-Norman names. The shape of the English language was frequently changed with the introduction of elements of Norman French, Latin, and other European languages; even the spelling of literate people's names were subsequently modified. Steel has been recorded under many different variations, including Steele, Steill, Steel, Steal and others.

Early Notables of the Steel family

William Steele (1610-1680), English lawyer and politician from Sandbach, Cheshire, Lord Chancellor of Ireland, grandfather of Sir Richard Steele of Dublin; Thomas Steele (d. 1643), who was shot for su...
Richard Steele or Steel (1629-1692), was an English nonconformist divine, son of Robert Steele, farmer, born at Barthomley, Cheshire. William Steele(d. 1680), was Lord Chancellor of Ireland, son of Ri...

Steel World Ranking

the United Kingdom, the name Steel is the 603^rd most popular surname with an estimated 10,843 people with that name. 1 However, in Australia, the name Steel is ranked the 732^nd most popular surname with an estimated 5,305 people with that name. 2 And in New Zealand, the name Steel is the 517^th popular surname with an estimated 1,334 people with that name. 3 The United States ranks Steel as 4,484^th with 7,461 people. 4

Migration of the Steel family to Ireland

Some of the Steel family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 98 words (7 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Steel migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia included the First Fleet of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

First Fleet

Miss Ann Steel, British settler convicted in Middlesex, England in 1788, sentenced to Life for theft, transported aboard the ship "Lady Juliana" leaving in 1789 arriving in New South Wales, Australia in 1790 5
Miss Elizabeth Steel, (1766 - 1795), aged 21, British settler convicted in Middlesex, England in 1787, sentenced to 7 years for stealing a watch, transported aboard the ship "Lady Juliana" leaving in 1789 arriving in New South Wales, Australia in 1790 6

Following the First Fleet, other convicts and early settlers arriving in Australia include:

Steel Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. William Steel, British convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Calcutta" in February 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mr. John Steel, British Convict who was convicted in Norfolk, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 27th October 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
Mr. Edmund Steel, English convict who was convicted in Berkshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Eliza" on 2nd February 1831, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
Mr. William Steel, English convict who was convicted in Stafford, Staffordshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Exmouth" on 3rd March 1831, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
Mr. Alfred Steel who was convicted in Leicester, Leicestershire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Bengal Merchant" on 4th August 1836, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 10
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Steel migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Steel Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Thomas Steel, who landed in Auckland, New Zealand in 1840
Mr. Thomas Steel, British settler as part of the 8th Detachment of the Royal New Zealand Fencibles travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Oriental Queen" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 18th September 1849 11
Mrs. Margaret Steel née Hunt, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Oriental Queen" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 18th September 1849 11
Mr. John Steel, (b. 1831), aged 19, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Randolph" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand in September 1850 11
David Pike Steel, aged 22, who arrived in Otago aboard the ship "Lady Nugent" in 1850
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Steel 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. 12

Steel Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Isaack Steel, who settled in Barbados in 1683

Steel migration to Canada +

Steel Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

John Steel, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1749-1752
John Steel, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1750
Peter Steel, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1750
Samuel Steel, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750
Susana Steel, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Steel Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Jacob Steel, who arrived in Canada in 1828
William Steel, aged 25, who landed in Quebec in 1833
Samuel Steel, aged 10, who arrived in Quebec in 1834
Mary Steel, aged 22, who landed in Quebec in 1834
Mary Steel, aged 24, who arrived in Quebec in 1834
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Steel migration to the United States +

Steel Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Steel, who settled in Connecticut in 1640
Clement Steel, who settled in Virginia in 1651
Eliz Steel, who landed in Virginia in 1663 13
Matthew Steel, who landed in Maryland in 1675 13
Isaac Steel, who settled in Virginia in 1683
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Steel Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Dennis Steel, who arrived in Virginia in 1715 13
Roelof Steel, who arrived in New York in 1715 13
Joost Steel, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1739 13
Mathew Steel, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1746 13
Hugh Steel, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1759 13
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Steel Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Moses Steel, who arrived in New York in 1801 13
Archibald Steel, who landed in Washington County, Pennsylvania in 1802 13
Margaret Steel, aged 26, who arrived in Delaware in 1803 13
Samuel Steel, who landed in America in 1805 13
Martha Steel, who arrived in America in 1805 13
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Steel (post 1700) +

Danielle Fernandes Dominique Schuelein- Steel (b. 1947), American author known for her romance novels, current best selling author alive and the fourth bestselling fiction author of all time; she has over 800 million copies sold
Simon Andrew Steel (b. 1969), former English cricketer for Suffolk (1996-1997)
Mark Steel (b. 1960), English comedian, broadcaster, newspaper columnist and author
Jon Steel (b. 1980), English born Scottish former rugby league footballer
John Steel (b. 1941), English musician, original drummer for The Animals
Flora Annie Steel (1847-1929), English writer from Sudbury, Middlesex who lived in British India for 22 years
Richard "Dick" Steel (b. 1930), English former professional footballer who played from 1953 to 1963
Allan Gibson "AG" Steel (1858-1914), English cricketer from West Derby, Liverpool, English national cricket captain in 1886
Dr Duncan I. Steel BSc, MSc, DIC, PhD, FRAS (b. 1955), English-born, New Zealand scientist, Professor of Astrobiology at the University of Buckingham in England and Space Scientist at NASA-Ames Research Center in California
... (Another 54 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Steel family +

Air New Zealand Flight 901

Mr. Ralph Augustus Steel (d. 1979), American passenger, from USA aboard the Air New Zealand Flight 901 for an Antarctic sightseeing flight when it flew into Mount Erebus; he died in the crash 14
Mr. Douglas M Steel (b. 1897), English Commander (Instructor) serving for the Royal Navy from Boston, Lincolnshire, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 15
Mr. John Steel, British seaman who was aboard the ship "HMS Queen Charlotte" off the coast of Capraia, Italy when she caught fire on the 17th March 1800; listed as survived
Mr. Robert Edward Steel (d. 1912), age unknown, English Greaser from Southampton, Hampshire who worked aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking 16

Sources +

"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
"Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
"Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 4th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/calcutta
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th February 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eliza
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th May 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/exmouth
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bengal-merchant
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
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)
Mount Erebus, Memorial, Roll of Remembrance (Retrieved 2018, February 21st). Retrieved from http://www.erebus.co.nz/memorialandawards/rollofremembrance.aspx
H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm
Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html