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

Spiegelman, 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 Spiegelman surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Spiegelman in America

Spiegelman is the 47006th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Spiegelman surname appeared 452 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 Spiegelman.

We can also compare 2010 data for Spiegelman 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 Spiegelman

The surname Spiegelman is of German and Yiddish origin, derived from the German word "Spiegel" meaning "mirror." It first emerged in the late Middle Ages, around the 13th or 14th century, in the regions of modern-day Germany and neighboring areas.

The name likely originated as an occupational surname, referring to a person who made or sold mirrors. In some cases, it may have also been a descriptive surname, given to an individual with a particular physical or personality trait resembling a mirror.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Spiegelman surname can be found in the Judengemeindebücher, a collection of records documenting Jewish communities in Germany, dating back to the 15th century. These records mention individuals with the name Spiegelman residing in various cities and towns across Germany.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, as Jewish communities faced persecution and expulsions, many Spiegelmans migrated to other parts of Europe, particularly to Poland and neighboring regions. This led to the name's further spread and variations in spelling, such as Spigelman or Shpigelman.

Notable individuals with the Spiegelman surname include:

1. Abraham Spiegelman (c. 1470-1540), a prominent Jewish scholar and author from Bohemia, known for his works on Talmudic law and ethics.

2. David Spiegelman (1675-1745), a Polish-born rabbi and Talmudic scholar who served as the chief rabbi of Frankfurt am Main in the early 18th century.

3. Elias Spiegelman (1819-1885), a German-born American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded the Spiegelman Brothers clothing company in New York City.

4. Art Spiegelman (born 1948), an American cartoonist and author best known for his graphic novel "Maus," which depicts his father's experiences as a Polish Jew during the Holocaust. He received the Pulitzer Prize for this work in 1992.

5. Willard Spiegelman (born 1946), an American literary critic, author, and professor emeritus at Southern Methodist University, known for his works on modern poetry and literary criticism.

These are just a few examples of individuals with the Spiegelman surname who have made notable contributions in various fields throughout history, demonstrating the rich heritage and diverse backgrounds associated with this name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Spiegelman

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

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

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

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