2000
#4,316
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,611
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.82
Rare Last name
Segal
A Jewish occupational surname referring to a legal scribe or rabbi skilled in Jewish law.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,393 Americans carry the last name Segal. That puts it at #4,698 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.45 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 40,838 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Segal surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Segal with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.4K
1 in 40,838
Census rank
#4,698
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,319 bearers of the surname Segal in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.45 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4698th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Segal, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Segal
The surname Segal originates from the Jewish Ashkenazi communities of Germany and Eastern Europe. It is derived from the Hebrew word "segan," which means "deputy" or "assistant." The name likely emerged as a descriptive occupational surname for those who served as assistants or deputies to important officials or religious leaders.
In the early Middle Ages, the name was often spelled as "Segan" or "Seegan" in Jewish communities across Germany and Poland. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Memorbuch (memorial book) of the Jewish community of Nuremberg, Germany, which mentions a "Moyses Segan" in the late 14th century.
As the Jewish communities migrated eastward into Poland, Russia, and other parts of Eastern Europe, the name evolved into various spellings, such as "Segal," "Siegel," and "Sigl." By the 16th century, the spelling "Segal" had become prevalent in many Jewish communities across Eastern Europe.
One notable bearer of the Segal name was Rabbi Yom Tov Lipmann Heller (1579-1654), a renowned Talmudic scholar and author of the influential work "Tosafot Yom Tov." He was born in Wallerstein, Germany, and later served as the Chief Rabbi of Prague.
Another prominent individual with the Segal surname was Sir Benjamin Segal (1776-1831), a British businessman and philanthropist born in Amsterdam. He played a significant role in supporting Jewish education and welfare initiatives in London.
In the 19th century, the name Segal was associated with several notable figures in the Jewish intellectual and literary circles. Isaac Leib Segal (1833-1908) was a Russian-Jewish author and translator who contributed to the revival of Hebrew literature. Moses Segal (1827-1901) was a renowned Hebrew scholar and educator who served as the Principal of the Jews' Free School in London.
The name Segal also has ties to the early Zionist movement. Naham Segal (1808-1888) was a prominent banker and supporter of the early Zionist cause, and his son, Jacob Segal (1850-1896), was a prominent Zionist activist and writer.
Throughout its history, the Segal surname has been borne by various notable individuals across various fields, from religion and literature to business and activism, reflecting the rich cultural heritage and contributions of the Jewish Ashkenazi communities to the societies they lived in.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Segal
Among Census respondents with the surname Segal, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Segal bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Segal surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.6% · 6,632
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 290
- Two or more races2.7% · 199
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 123
- Black or African American0.9% · 68
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Segal
Segal appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#4,451
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,972
+361 bearers (+4.7%)
Per 100,000 2.70
Rank movement Down 135 places
2020
#4,698
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,319
-653 bearers (-8.2%)
Per 100,000 2.45
Rank movement Down 247 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,316 | 7,611 | 2.82 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,451 | 7,972 | 2.70 | +361 bearers (+4.7%) | Down 135 places |
| 2020 | #4,698 | 7,319 | 2.45 | -653 bearers (-8.2%) | Down 247 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Segal surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #4,451 | #4,698 | -5.5% |
| Count | 7,972 | 7,319 | -8.2% |
| Per 100K | 2.70 | 2.45 | -9.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Segal bearers went from 7,972 to 7,319 (-8.2% change). The surname moved down 247 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,451 to #4,698.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Segal
FAQ
Segal surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Segal?
Name Census estimates that about 8,393 living Americans carry the surname Segal. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 40,838 residents.
How common is Segal?
Segal ranks #4,698 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.45 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,319 people with the surname Segal. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,393), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.45 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.45 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Segal.
Has Segal become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Segal went from 7,972 recorded bearers to 7,319. That is a decrease of 653 (-8.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,451 to #4,698.
What does the Census say about the background of Segal?
Among Census respondents with the surname Segal, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Segal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.6% (6,632 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Segal appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.6%), Hispanic (4.0%), Two or More Races (2.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Segal (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Segal mean?
A Jewish occupational surname referring to a legal scribe or rabbi skilled in Jewish law. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Segal (2.45 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Segal?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.