Explore the Family Name Sale

The meaning of Sale

1. English: habitational name from Sale (Cheshire), or from any of several minor places or topographic features named from Middle English sale, salle ‘sallow, willow’ (Old English s(e)alh). See also Seal, with which this name may often have interchanged. The gentry family that took its name from Sale in Cheshire became prominent landowners on the Isle of Man (see Sayle 1). 2. English: from Middle English sal(e) ‘hall’ (Old English sæl, Old French sale, Old Norse salr), translated by medieval clerks as Latin aula. The surname may be topographic, for someone who lived or worked in a hall, or occupational, for someone who worked at a hall as a servant. This was the name of an Anglo-Norman family who had settled in County Tipperary, Ireland, by the 13th century. The name was Gaelicized as de Sál, hence the Anglicized form Saul which has been widely adopted in Ireland. 3. Croatian (Šale): probably from a pet form of the personal name Šanto, a Croatized form of Italian Santo. 4. Slovenian (Šale): from a short form of the old personal name Šalamon (see Salamon), or a nickname from šaliti se ‘to joke, to jest’. 5. Italian: habitational name from any of the places called Sale (Piedmont). 6. Italian (Sardinia): metonymic occupational name from sale ‘salt’, for a producer or seller. 7. French (Salé): variant of Sallé ‘salty, salted’ (see Salle 2).

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Sale in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname "Sale" has seen a minor decline in popularity from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, "Sale" was ranked 8,624th most popular surname, but by 2010 it had slipped slightly to 9,097th, representing a 5.48% decrease in rank. However, even with the drop in rank, the actual count of individuals with the surname increased by about 2.28%, moving up from 3,511 in 2000 to 3,591 in 2010. Notably, the proportion of the surname per 100,000 people also decreased by approximately 6.15%.

20002010Change
Rank#8,624#9,097-5.48%
Count3,5113,5912.28%
Proportion per 100k1.31.22-6.15%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Sale

When looking at the ethnic identity associated with the surname "Sale", there are some notable shifts based on the Decennial U.S. Census data. It appears that the number of people with this surname identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, Black, and American Indian and Alaskan Native all increased significantly between 2000 and 2010, with increases of 54.04%, 34.32%, 64.96%, and 51.35% respectively. On the other hand, the percentage of individuals identifying as White has decreased by 4.17%. Those identifying as two or more races also saw a slight decrease of 12.80%. While the majority of those with the surname identify as White, these changes suggest a diversification in the ethnic identities associated with the surname "Sale".

20002010Change
White89.83%86.08%-4.17%
Asian/Pacific Islander3.96%6.1%54.04%
Hispanic2.36%3.17%34.32%
Black1.37%2.26%64.96%
Two or More Races2.11%1.84%-12.8%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.37%0.56%51.35%

Sale ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Sale is British & Irish, which comprises 47.8% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (25.5%) and Italian (4.4%). Additional ancestries include Scandinavian, Ashkenazi Jewish, Eastern European, Filipino & Austronesian, and Spanish & Portuguese.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
British & Irish47.8%
French & German25.5%
Italian4.4%
Other22.3%
Sale

Possible origins of the surname Sale

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Sale have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Greater Manchester, United Kingdom83.30%
West Midlands, United Kingdom83.30%
Greater London, United Kingdom83.30%
Glasgow City, United Kingdom83.30%
West Yorkshire, United Kingdom83.30%

What Sale haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Sale is O-F2415, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup O-F2415 is descended from haplogroup O-M1359. Other common haplogroups include E-M183 and O-F2859, which are predominantly found among people with European and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Sale surname are: H1, N, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

salePaternal Haplogroup Origins O-M1359
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to the Cham

One of the many populations harboring members of haplogroup O1b1a1a1a1 is the Cham ethnic group, a group of people who speak Austronesian languages in Mainland Southeast Asia. Austronesian languages make up a language family that is extremely large and widespread, comprising over 350 million people on islands such as Madagascar, Easter Island, and many others. However, Austronesian languages are less common on mainland Asia, with a notable exception being the Chamic language. Research suggests that ancestors of the Cham people migrated from Southeast Asian islands to the mainland around the year 500 BCE, and that early Cham populations quickly began mixing with indigenous southern Vietnamese populations. As a result, the Chamic language now has words that were borrowed from languages spoken by indigenous Vietnamese people. It is likely that an ancestral Kinh population was one of the populations that mixed with the Cham people shortly after their migration to mainland Asia.

Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette

Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Sale have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Sale

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Sale" Surname 47.2%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Sale

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Sale" Surname 22.6%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Sale

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Sale" Surname 18.4%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Sale

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Sale" Surname 19.3%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Sale?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Sale are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

British & Irish 62.1%

23andMe Users 57.2%