Schlegel
A German surname meaning “hammer” or “mallet,” originally a nickname or occupational name connected with striking tools or smithing.
The #4,747 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 41,381 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname comes from Middle High German and Old High German slegel, meaning a hammer, mallet, or striking tool. In surname use, it was likely first applied to someone who worked with a hammer—such as a smith—or as a descriptive nickname for a forceful person. Historical sources also connect it with blacksmithing more specifically, which fits the tool-based sense well.
History
The name is well established in German-speaking areas and appears in medieval records. It later spread more widely through German migration, which is why it is found in the United States today. Related forms and English-language renderings sometimes simplify the spelling or adapt the sound.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century surname writers glossed Schlegel quite literally as a “sledge-hammer” name, tying it to the world of metalworking and tools.
From the historical record
“Outbier und Bösbier, Dünnebier und Ziickerbier; Altwein und Outwein, Kühlioein und Sauerwein.^ Milch- und Mehlspeisen sind vertreten durch: Süfsmilch, Schlegel- milch (Buttermilch), Hafermehl, Pfannicuch, Butterweck, Mehr Vereinzeltes übergehen wir hier; doch zu erwähnen ist noch ein deutsches Nationalessen, die…”
— Die deutschen Familiennamen