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

Pegel, 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 Pegel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pegel in America

Pegel is the 128249th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pegel surname appeared 133 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 Pegel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pegel 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 Pegel

The surname Pegel is of German origin, and it is believed to have originated in the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old German word "pegil," which means "brook" or "stream." This suggests that the name was likely given to someone who lived near a small body of water.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Pegel can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of historical documents from the Margraviate of Brandenburg, dating back to the 13th century. The name appeared as "Pegil" in a document from 1284, referring to a landowner named Heinrich Pegil.

In the 14th century, the name Pegel was also mentioned in the Mecklenburgisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of historical documents from the region of Mecklenburg, in northern Germany. The name was spelled as "Pegel" in a document from 1356, referring to a person named Hinrik Pegel.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Pegel in a place name is the village of Pegeln, located in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The village was first mentioned in historical records in the 13th century, and its name is likely derived from the same Old German word "pegil."

Notable individuals who bore the surname Pegel include Johann Friedrich Pegel (1706-1788), a German theologian and philosopher who served as a professor at the University of Halle. Another prominent figure was Ernst Pegel (1836-1915), a German architect who designed several notable buildings in Berlin, including the Alte Nationalgalerie.

In the 19th century, Christian Pegel (1826-1902) was a German politician who served as a member of the Reichstag (German parliament) from 1871 to 1881. Another notable individual was Wilhelm Pegel (1869-1942), a German engineer and inventor who contributed to the development of early aviation technology.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Pegel in literature can be found in the works of the German writer and poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832). In his novel "Die Wahlverwandtschaften" (Elective Affinities), published in 1809, one of the characters is named Pegel.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pegel

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

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 Pegel 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 Pegel 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 Pegel was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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