Siegel (also

Segal Segal, and its variants including Sagal, Segel, Sigal or Siegel, is a family name which is primarily Ashkenazi Jewish. The name is said to be derived from Hebrew ''segan leviyyah'' (assistant to the Levites) although a minority of sources cla ...

or Segel), is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and Ashkenazi Jewish surname. it can be traced to 11th century

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

and was used by people who made wax seals for or sealed official documents (each such male being described as a ''Siegelbeamter''). Alternate spellings include Sigel, Sigl, Siegl, and others. "Siegel" is also the modern German word for

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...

. The name ultimately derives from the Latin ''sigillum,'' meaning "seal" as in the Seal of the City of New York: ''Sigillum Civitatis Novi Eboraci''. The Germanicized derivative of the name was given to professional seal makers and engravers. Some researchers have attributed the surname to Sigel, referring to

Sól (Sun) Sól may refer to: * Sól (Germanic mythology), a goddess who personifies the sun in Germanic mythology *Sól, Lublin Voivodeship, east Poland *Sól, Masovian Voivodeship, east-central Poland *Sól, Silesian Voivodeship, south Poland * Sowilo rune o ...

, the goddess of the sun in Germanic mythology (Siȝel or sigel in Old English / Anglo-Saxon), but that is highly speculative.

Variants, and false cognates

Other variants may routinely include Siegelman, Siegle, Sigl, and Sigel. Presumably, some bearers of these names are lineal descendants of

ethnic Jew "Who is a Jew?" ( he, מיהו יהודי ) is a basic question about Jewish identity and considerations of Jewish self-identification. The question pertains to ideas about Jewish personhood, which have cultural, ethnic, religious, political, ...

s who changed the spellings of their surnames in the course of assimilating among other cultures: "

" and " Segel" are

false cognate False cognates are pairs of words that seem to be cognates because of similar sounds and meaning, but have different etymologies; they can be within the same language or from different languages, even within the same family. For example, the Engl ...

s to Siegel, usually having derived from Latin America, where the double vowel did not translate into pronunciation. Most sources indicate that it derives from the

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

acronym סגל the abbreviated form of either ''Sagan Gadol ha-Leviya'', which means "great assistant to the

Levites Levites (or Levi) (, he, ''Lǝvīyyīm'') are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname ''Halevi'', which consists of the Hebrew de ...

", or ''Sagan Gadol L'-Cohen'' which means "great assistant to the

Cohanim Kohen ( he, , ''kōhēn'', , "priest", pl. , ''kōhănīm'', , "priests") is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. Levitical priests or ''kohanim'' are traditionally b ...

" (special group of Levites who tended to more holy tasks within the Jewish Temple), and was an honorific title bestowed upon a member of the tribe of Levi who performed temple duties faithfully. (Some Rabbis aver that Segal/Segall derives from the Hebrew s'gula, meaning "treasure." However, this would not explain the association of the name only with the tribe of Levi.) Further, the double-L in Segall seems to be a specifically

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language ** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...

spelling variant.

Siegel

* Adam Siegel (born 1969), American guitarist * Bernard Siegel (1868–1940), Austro-Hungarian born American character actor * Bernard Siegel, American attorney * Bernie S. Siegel (born 1932), American writer and retired pediatric surgeon *

Bugsy Siegel Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel (February 28, 1906 – June 20, 1947) was an American mobster who was a driving force behind the development of the Las Vegas Strip. Siegel was not only influential within the Jewish Mob, but along with his childhood fri ...

(1906–1947), American mobster *

Carl Ludwig Siegel Carl Ludwig Siegel (31 December 1896 – 4 April 1981) was a German mathematician specialising in analytic number theory. He is known for, amongst other things, his contributions to the Thue–Siegel–Roth theorem in Diophantine approximation, ...

(1896–1981), German mathematician *

Corky Siegel Mark Paul "Corky" Siegel (born October 24, 1943) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and composer. He plays harmonica and piano. He plays and writes blues and blues-rock music, and has also worked extensively on combining blues and c ...

(born 1943), American harmonica player in the Siegel–Schwall Band *

David Siegel (disambiguation) David Siegel may refer to: * David A. Siegel (born 1935), American businessman and founder and CEO of Westgate Resorts * David Siegel (musician) (born 1973), American musician * David Siegel (screenwriter), American film director and screenwriter ...

, several people * Don Siegel, American film and television director and producer * Dora Siegel (1912-2003), birth name of Dora Gad, Israeli interior designer * Eli Siegel (1902–1978), Latvian-American poet and critic who founded philosophy of aesthetic realism * George L. Siegel (1885-1963), American lawyer and politician * James Siegel (born 1954), American thriller novelist * Jeremy Siegel (born 1945), American Professor of Finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, author and commentator * Jerry Siegel (1914–1996), American, one of the creators of Superman * Joel Siegel (1943–2007), American film critic and television journalist * Karola Siegel, birthname of Ruth Westheimer (born 1928; known as "Dr. Ruth"), German-American sex therapist, talk show host, author, professor, Holocaust survivor, and former Haganah sniper. * Kate Siegel (born 1982), American actress and screenwriter * Larry Siegel (1925-2019), American comedy writer * Mark Siegel (born 1967), American graphic novel author and publisher * Max Siegel, American corporate CEO * Mona L. Siegel, American scholar, author, and historian * Ralph Siegel (born 1945), German record producer and songwriter * Ralph Siegel (scientist) (1958–2011), American neuroscientist * Rick Siegel, American comedian, talent agent and inventor * Robert Siegel, American radio journalist, host of NPR's ''All Things Considered'' * Shepard Siegel, Canadian psychologist * Sol C. Siegel (1903–1982), American reporter and film producer * Stephen Siegel (born 1944), American real estate executive, chairman of CB Richard Ellis * Steven Siegel (born 1953), American sculptor * Warren Siegel, American physicist * Wayne Siegel (born 1953), American composer living in Århus, Denmark * William Siegel (1905–1990), American graphic artist

Seigel

*Andrea Seigel (born 1979), American novelist and screenwriter *Jerrold Seigel, American historian *Kalman Seigel (1917–1998), an American journalist

Siegal

* Ian Siegal (born 1971), British blues singer and guitarist * Justine Siegal (born 1975), American baseball coach and sports educator

Seigal

*Anna Seigal, British mathematician *Bernard Seigal (1957–2006), American musician

Sigl

*Georg Sigl (1811–1887), Austrian mechanical engineer and entrepreneur *Robert Sigl (born 1962), German filmmaker *Rudi Sigl (born 1937), German sport shooter *Wolfgang Sigl (born 1972), Austrian rower

Mathematical concepts

*Brauer–Siegel theorem *Gelfand–Naimark–Segal construction *Siegel modular form *Segal space *Newell–Whitehead–Segel equation *Siegel zero

External links

Origins of the name from segal.org

{{surname Jewish surnames Levite surnames Germanic-language surnames German-language surnames Yiddish-language surnames