Show ContentsSigal History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Sigal

What does the name Sigal mean?

One cannot simply look at the etymology of a Jewish name to truly understand the origins. Rather understanding the vast historical context along with the name will guide you. However, it does make Jewish surnames extremely difficult to trace back to their origins. 1

The name Sigal was derived from the German Siegal, which means 'seal.' Sigal would have been an occupational name assumed by a Jew who engraved seals. In the 18th century, Jews were very prominent in this profession. Another point of origin for the this name is the Hebraic phrase "SeGan Lavia," which means "second rate Levite." 1

Sigal Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Segal, Siegal, Siegel, Sigle, Sigler, Sickel, Siedl, Seidl, Zajedl, Ziegler, Ziegelman and many more.


Contemporary Notables of the name Sigal (post 1700) +

  • Clancy Sigal (1926-2017), American prolific author, best-known for the autobiographical novel Going Away (1961)

Pan Am Flight 103 (Lockerbie)
  • Irving Stanley Sigal (1953-1988), American Research Biologist from Pennington, New Jersey, America, who flew aboard the Pan Am Flight 103 from Frankfurt to Detroit, known as the Lockerbie bombing in 1988 and died 2


  1. Kaganoff, Benzion C. A Dictionary of Jewish names and their history. Schocken Books, 1977. Digital
  2. Pan Am Flight 103's victims: A list of those killed 25 years ago | syracuse.com. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/12/pan_am_flight_103s_victims_a_list_of_those_killed_25_years_ago.html


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