SELLAR

The surname Sellar is an old name of Scottish origin, first recorded in the early medieval period and maintained through the centuries as a distinct line within the British Isles.

Its roots are found in several linguistic strands: the Old English word sella, meaning “hall”, and the Anglo‑Norman French celler meaning “cellar”; in Gaelic, the word sell conveys notions of a willow tree or strength. These elements allowed the name to develop both as a topographic identifier for someone dwelling at or near a manor hall, and as an occupational label for those employed in the cellars of great houses, as saddlers who fashioned or repaired saddles, or as merchants who sold goods. The suffix -er is the usual Old English marker for a person engaged in a trade or activity, thereby making the name Sellar a metonymic occupational surname.

The historiography of the name reaches back to the late eleventh century. The earliest attested spelling, that of Alriz Sellere, occurs in the 1086 Inquisitio Eliensis of Cambridgeshire, under the reign of King William I. A further 12th‑century reference appears in the Templars’ documents as William Sellerarius (1185). London church records from the early sixteenth century also supply examples: Dorothie Sellers married William Boswell in 1602 at St. Giles, Cripplegate, and Anna Seller, daughter of Thomas Seller, was christened in 1607 at St. Dunstan's, Stepney.

Geographically, the surname is most closely associated with Scotland. Its first stable family seat was established in Aberdeenshire, within the Grampian region. By the early modern era, bearers of the name were well established in the northern and western parts of the country, especially within the urban centres of Glasgow and Edinburgh. In the 17th and 18th centuries, members of the Sellar line were documented on the Orkney Islands, a tradition that continues to the present day. The spread of the name beyond Scotland mirrors the broader patterns of Scottish emigration, with notable concentrations found in the United States, Canada and Australia.

Variations of the surname are numerous, reflecting both phonetic shifts and linguistic layers. The most common alternations are Seller, Sellars, Sellor, Sellors, Sellersmith, and Sellears. These variants are occasionally separated by the addition of the suffix s, which historically denoted “son of.” An 1851 United Kingdom census record from Bedfordshire records an individual named Roger Sellar, indicating that the name had crossed into England by the early nineteenth century. More recent census data show the highest concentration of the surname in Lancashire, with significant presences also in Cheshire and Staffordshire.

In contemporary times Sellar remains a relatively uncommon surname, still largely confined to the United Kingdom but with diaspora communities maintaining a clear link to its Scottish heritage. Its survival attests to the resilience of the family's lineage and offers a window into the linguistic and social histories of the British Isles.

Typical given names associated with the Sellar surname

Male

• Alistair
• Andrew
• David
• James
• John
• Michael
• Paul
• Peter
• Robert
• William

Female

• Angela
• Ann
• Caroline
• Catherine
• Elizabeth
• Fiona
• Irvine
• Jennifer
• Margaret
• Mary
• Sarah
• Susan

Similar and related surnames

Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.

How to communicate the surname Sellar in...

Braille

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Morse

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Semaphore

Origin: Celtic

Region of origin: British Isles

Country of origin: Scotland

Religion of origin: Christian

Language of origin: Gaelic

Famous people named Sellar

• Patrick Sellar - Lawyer (1780 to 1851)
• David Sellar - Officer of Arms (1941 to 2019)
• Kenneth Sellar - Cricketer and rugby union player (1906 to 1989)
• James Zimri Sellar - Australian politician (1830 to 1906)

Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.

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