Find out how popular the last name Nachtigal is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Nachtigal.

Nachtigal, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Nachtigal surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nachtigal in America

Nachtigal is the 45804th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nachtigal surname appeared 466 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Nachtigal.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nachtigal to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Nachtigal

The surname Nachtigal originated in Germany and can be traced back to the late medieval period. It is derived from the German word "Nachtigall," which means "nightingale," referring to the small songbird. This suggests that the name may have initially been a nickname or a descriptive name for someone who had a melodious voice or lived near an area frequented by nightingales.

The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 14th century, with variations in spelling such as Nachtigall, Nachtigal, and Nachtigall appearing in historical documents and records from various regions of Germany. One notable example is the mention of a Henricus Nachtigal in a 1389 document from the city of Königsberg (now Kaliningrad, Russia).

In the 15th century, the name was found in various parts of Germany, including Saxony and Bavaria. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname was Johannes Nachtigal, a merchant from Nuremberg who lived from around 1420 to 1495.

During the 16th century, the Nachtigal family gained prominence in the region of Hesse, where they held land and positions of authority. A notable figure was Philipp Nachtigal (1518-1583), a Protestant theologian and rector of the Latin school in Marburg.

In the 17th century, the name appears in records from various German states, including Prussia and Saxony. One prominent individual was Johann Nachtigal (1615-1676), a Lutheran clergyman and author who served as the court preacher in Dresden.

Moving into the 18th century, the Nachtigal surname can be found in various parts of Germany, as well as in neighboring regions such as Austria and Switzerland. Gustav Nachtigal (1734-1804) was a German composer and organist from Halle, known for his church music compositions.

In the 19th century, the name gained further recognition with the explorer Gustav Nachtigal (1834-1885), who led expeditions in West and Central Africa and served as the first governor of German Togoland. Another notable figure was Karl Wilhelm Nachtigal (1810-1876), a German jurist and politician who served as the President of the Reichstag (Imperial Parliament) in 1871.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nachtigal

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Nachtigal.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Nachtigal was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Nachtigal has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Nachtigal was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Nachtigal, please contact us.

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