Engel
A surname with several overlapping roots, most often from German Engel meaning “angel,” though in older scholarship it can also be linked to the Angles or to nickname-like forms.
The #1,644 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 14,077 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name Engel is often explained from German Engel, meaning “angel,” ultimately from Latin angelus. Older surname studies, however, note that it can also be connected with the older Germanic tribal name of the Angles, or with related personal-name elements that became surnames in medieval use. Because these explanations overlap in historical sources, the surname is best treated as having more than one possible origin depending on family line and region.
History
In German-speaking areas Engel appears both as a surname in its own right and as the first element in many compound names, such as Engelhardt. English surname books also mention it as an imported German form and as a possible source for or counterpart to names like Ingle and Engall. In North America it is also known as a Jewish surname in some families, though that usage is not specifically established by the excerpts here.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A medieval German name element spelled Angil/Engel could blur together the ideas of “angel” and the tribal name of the Angles, which is one reason old surname etymologies can be messy.
From the historical record
“possess, redeem] ENGEL (Ger.) i the first elem. of various compd. names (see following) : it is the sing; of the national name (O.E. Engle, Angles or English : see England in Diet.) [The etym. is an- O.Teut. word for ' meadow,' ' grassland,' seen in O.N. eng, M.Dut. engh, and O.L.Ger. and O.H.Ger. angar (mod. Ger.…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)