Siegel (also Segal, Segali or Segel), is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

surname. Alternate spellings include Sigel, Sigl, Siegl, and others. It can be traced to 11th century

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

and was used by people who made wax seals for or sealed official documents (each such male being described as a ''Siegelbeamter''). "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, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

. The name ultimately derives from the Latin ''sigillum'', meaning "seal". 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 or ...

, 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 Jews who changed the spellings of their surnames in the course of assimilating among other cultures: " Segal" and " Segel" are

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

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 (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

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

Levites Levites ( ; ) or Levi 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 definite article "" ''Ha-' ...

", or ''Sagan Gadol L'-Cohen'' which means "great assistant to the Cohanim" (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 spelling variant.

Siegel

* Adam Siegel (born 1969), American guitarist * Allard D. Junior Siegel (born 2002), Dutch-Surinamese software developer * 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 gangster, mobster who was a driving force behind the development of the Las Vegas Strip. Siegel was influential within the Jewish-American organized crime, Jewish Mo ...

(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 cla ...

(born 1943), American harmonica player in the Siegel–Schwall Band * David Siegel (disambiguation), several people *

Don Siegel Donald Siegel ( ; October 26, 1912 – April 20, 1991) was an American film director and producer. Siegel was described by ''The New York Times'' as "a director of tough, cynical and forthright action-adventure films whose taut plots centered o ...

, 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 * Fredrik Siegel Sjølund (born 1991) - Norwegian politician and actor * George L. Siegel (1885-1963), American lawyer and politician * James Siegel (born 1954), American thriller novelist *

Jeremy Siegel Jeremy James Siegel (born November 14, 1945) is an American economist who is the Russell E. Palmer Professor Emeritus of Finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He appears regularly on networks including CNN, CNBC and NP ...

(born 1945), American Professor of Finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, author and commentator *

Jerry Siegel Jerome "Jerry" Siegel ( ; October 17, 1914 – January 28, 1996) Roger Stern. ''Superman: Sunday Classics: 1939–1943'' DC Comics/ Kitchen Sink Press, Inc./ Sterling Publishing; 2006 was an American comic book writer. He was the co-creator of ...

(1914–1996), American, one of the creators of

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

* Joel Siegel (1943–2007), American film critic and television journalist * Karola Siegel, birthname of

Ruth Westheimer Karola Ruth Westheimer (née Siegel; June 4, 1928 – July 12, 2024), better known as Dr. Ruth, was a German and American sex therapist and talk show host. Westheimer was born in Germany to a Jewish family. As the Nazis came to power, her paren ...

(born 1928; known as "Dr. Ruth"), German-American sex therapist, talk show host, author, professor, Holocaust survivor, and former

Haganah Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...

sniper. * Kate Siegel (born 1982), American actress and screenwriter *

Larry Siegel Lawrence H. Siegel (October 29, 1925 – August 20, 2019) was an American comedy writer and satirist who wrote for television, stage, magazines, records, and books. He won three Emmys as Head Writer during four seasons of ''The Carol Burnett Show ...

(1925-2019), American comedy writer * Mark Siegel (born 1967), American graphic novel author and publisher *

Max Siegel Max Siegel (born December 31, 1964) is an American corporate CEO, entertainment executive, attorney, and activist. He is the current Chief Executive Officer of USA Track & Field (USATF), the national governing body of Athletics in the United St ...

, American corporate CEO * Mona L. Siegel, American scholar, author, and historian * Nolan Siegel, (born 2004), American racing driver *

Ralph Siegel Ralph Siegel (born 30 September 1945) is a German record producer and songwriter. Siegel is one of the most notable figures at the Eurovision Song Contest, in which he has participated with 24 songs so far, among them the 1982 winner song Ein ...

(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 ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

'' * 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 In mathematics, Siegel modular forms are a major type of automorphic form. These generalize conventional ''elliptic'' modular forms which are closely related to elliptic curves. The complex manifolds constructed in the theory of Siegel modular form ...

* Segal space * Newell–Whitehead–Segel equation * Siegel zero

External links

Origins of the name from segal.org

{{surname Surnames of Jewish origin Levite surnames Germanic-language surnames German-language surnames German occupational surnames Yiddish-language surnames