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 claim ...
,
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 Jew
"Who is a Jew?" (, ), 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, genealogical, and per ...
s who changed the spellings of their surnames in the course of assimilating among other cultures: "
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 claim ...
" 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
Kohen (, ; , ، Arabic كاهن , Kahen) is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. They are traditionally believed, and halakhically required, to be of direct patriline ...
" (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, traditional ...
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) David Siegel may refer to:
* David A. Siegel (1935–2025), American businessman and founder and CEO of Westgate Resorts
* David Siegel (musician) (born 1973), American musician
* David Siegel (screenwriter), American film director and screenwri ...
, 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
Dora Gad (; b. 1912, d. 31 December 2003) was an Israeli interior designer, whose work had significant influence on the development of modern Israeli architecture.
Biography
Dora Siegel (later Gad) was born in Câmpulung Moldovenesc, Romania. Sh ...
, Israeli interior designer
*
Eli Siegel
Eli Siegel (August 16, 1902 – November 8, 1978) was a poet, critic, and educator. He founded Aesthetic Realism, a philosophical movement based in New York City. An idea central to Aesthetic Realism—that every person, place or thing in realit ...
(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
Joel Steven Siegel (July 7, 1943 – June 29, 2007) was an American film critic for the ABC morning news show ''Good Morning America'' for over 25 years. The winner of multiple Emmy Awards, Siegel also worked as a radio disc jockey and an advert ...
(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
Nolan Reid Siegel (born November 8, 2004) is an American racing driver. He competes in the IndyCar Series driving the No. 6 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren. In 2024, Siegel won the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans, 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 class on hi ...
, (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
Robert Charles Siegel (born June 26, 1947) is an American retired radio journalist. He was one of the co-hosts of the National Public Radio afternoon news broadcast ''All Things Considered'' from 1987 until his retirement in January 2018.
Ear ...
, 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
CBRE Group, Inc. (an initialism of Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis) is an American commercial real estate services and investment firm with corporate headquarters in Dallas, Texas and global financial headquarters at Lever House in Midtown Manh ...
*
Steven Siegel (born 1953), American sculptor
*
Warren Siegel
Warren Siegel ( ) is a theoretical physicist specializing in supersymmetric quantum field theory and string theory. He was a professor at the C. N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics at Stony Brook University. He retired in Fall of 2022.
Back ...
, American physicist
*
Wayne Siegel (born 1953), American composer living in Århus, Denmark
*
William Siegel (1905–1990), American graphic artist
Seigel
*
Andrea Seigel
Andrea Seigel (born October 28, 1979) is an American novelist and screenwriter. To date, she has published four novels. Seigel was born in Anaheim, California, and grew up in Irvine, California. She graduated from Woodbridge High School. She ...
(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
Georg Sigl (13 January 1811, Breitenfurt bei Wien - 9 May 1887, Vienna) was an Austrian mechanical engineer and entrepreneur.
Life
Sigl studied to be a locksmith, but later moved to Berlin where, in 1844, he established a small factory for the ...
(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
In mathematics, the Brauer–Siegel theorem, named after Richard Brauer and Carl Ludwig Siegel, is an asymptotic result on the behaviour of algebraic number fields, obtained by Richard Brauer and Carl Ludwig Siegel. It attempts to generalise the re ...
*
Gelfand–Naimark–Segal construction
In functional analysis, a discipline within mathematics, given a C^*-algebra A, the Gelfand–Naimark–Segal construction establishes a correspondence between cyclic *-representations of A and certain linear functionals on A (called ''states''). ...
*
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 In mathematics, a Segal space is a simplicial space satisfying some pullback conditions, making it look like a homotopical version of a category. More precisely, a simplicial set, considered as a simplicial discrete space, satisfies the Segal cond ...
*
Newell–Whitehead–Segel equation
*
Siegel zero
In mathematics, more specifically in the field of analytic number theory, a Landau–Siegel zero or simply Siegel zero, also known as exceptional zeroSee Iwaniec (2006).), named after Edmund Landau and Carl Ludwig Siegel, is a type of potential cou ...
See also
*
Chagall (disambiguation) Chagall most commonly refers to Marc Chagall (1887-1985), Belarusian-Jewish-French artist
Chagall may also refer to:
* ''Chagall'' (film), 1963 short documentary film
* Chagall (restaurant), former restaurant in Leidschendam, Netherlands
* 2981 Ch ...
*
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 claim ...
*
Segel
*
Sigel (disambiguation)
*
Siegelbaum
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