Surname Stingel - Meaning and Origin
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Stingel: What does the surname Stingel mean?
The last name Stingel is of German origin and is likely derived from the Middle High German word “stengel” meaning “stalk” or “a young shoot or branch of a tree.” Alternately, the surname may be derived from the German occupational name “stingler” meaning “hewer” or “one who shapes or branches a tree.”
The surname may also have been an ethnic name, indicating someone who came from the region of Stengels. This is a small township in the district of Umkirch, Germany.
The earliest Stingel surname were found in Bavaria and Austria in the 1400s and since the 1500s, the name has spread to other regions of Germany. In the 1700s, it was taken to other countries including the United States and Canada, and recently, as far as New Zealand.
In the United States, the Stingel surname is most prevalent in the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, New York, Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana. The estimated number of Americans with Stingel as a last name is approximately 1,500.
The surname Stingel signifies a person’s historical origins in Germany. Like other surnames, Stingel is a testament to the family’s past and serves as an indicator of one’s ancestors, from where they originated and to where they eventually took their family.
Order DNA origin analysisStingel: Where does the name Stingel come from?
The last name Stingel is most commonly found in Hesse, Germany. It is an occupational surname which originally referred to the practice of bleaching cloth. Since the early 19th century, people with the surname Stingel have been living primarily in three particular regions in Germany: Rhineland-Palatinate, the Saarland, and Lower Saxony.
Today, in accordance with its original etymology, the name Stingel is most commonly associated with Schwalm-Eder-Kreis in the German state of Hesse. This is a rural district of Germany where family names from the past remain established today.
The Stingel families in Schwalm-Eder-Kreis are said to have a strong sense of community-livingsmanship, and many of the individuals with this surname are still involved in the same type of work that their ancestors did centuries ago: bleaching cloth.
If you look further east, you’ll find Stingels in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. This goes to show that, while the name may be most commonly associated with Hesse, it is still found in other areas in Germany.
Outside of German regions, Stingel is still found in various parts of Europe. There are a number of Stingels in Austria, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic. And while the concentration of individuals with this surname is much smaller in the United States, there are still a fair number in certain areas such as New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.
Variations of the surname Stingel
Stingel is a surname of German, Austrian, Swiss, South African and Dutch origin.
The variants and alternate spellings of Stingel include Stengel, Stengl, Stengler, Stingl, Stüngel, Stüngle, and Stingle. All of these variants are still found in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Africa, and the Netherlands today.
In German, the surname translates to the word “little stem”, and has its roots in Latin and meaning “sting”. It is likely the name was granted to a family who resided near a thornbush, or it may have referred to someone who worked with metal, such as forging or blacksmithing.
In the United States, the earliest known mention of different spellings of the Stingel surname was the 1830s.
The most popular surname variations throughout the United States with the highest frequency in Pennsylvania and Ohio are Stengel, Stingel, Stingle, and Stangl. Stengler and Stengeler are also listed as separate entries in the U.S. Census Bureau, albeit less frequently.
In South Africa, the Stingel surname has been found in records dating back to the early 1700s, and variants such as Stengel and Stengeler have existed as far back as the 1400s. By far the most common variant in South Africa is Stengel.
In the Netherlands, the Stingel surname is primarily found in the region of North Holland.
No matter where the origin of the Stingel surname may be, it is clear that this surname has spread throughout Europe and eventually made its way to the United States. Whilst its meaning may remain a mystery, one thing is for certain: Stingel is far from a rare surname.
Famous people with the name Stingel
- Rudolf Stingel: Artist and painter.
- Julian Stingel: Synthwave producer.
- Juliana Stingel: Professional surfer.
- Wolfram Stingel: Austrian footballer.
- Konrad Stingel: Musical composer.
- Johannes Stingel: Artist and sculptor.
- Verena Stingel: Painter and sculptor.
- Mason Stingel: American singer-songwriter and musician.
- Harald Stingel: Businessman and CEO of Siemens Austria.
- Robert Stingel: Former soccer player.
- Oskar Stingel: Politician and former Mayor of Vienna.
- Wolfgang Stingel: Professor of archeology.
- Katherine Stingel: Social media influence and philanthropist.
- Manfred Stingel: Austrian football manager.
- Alfred Stingel: Austrian mountain biker.