Stengel
A German surname meaning “stem” or “stalk,” and in some cases extended from words for a bar, pole, or lever.
The #8,534 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 80,069 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname is generally linked to German Stengel, meaning a stalk, stem, or slender rod. One 19th-century source also connects it with a broader German stem for a bar, pole, or lever, suggesting an early nickname or occupational sense for someone associated with such a tool or object. In some name traditions, similar forms were also treated as short or altered forms of larger surnames built on Stang- or Stengel-.
History
The name appears in German-speaking areas and was later carried abroad by emigration, especially to North America. Historical onomastic writers often grouped Stengel with other German surnames derived from everyday objects, plant parts, or tools. The surname is not especially common in the United States, but it is well established in German family-name records.
Origin
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Fun fact
A related German compound, Rosenstengel, literally means “rose stem.”
From the historical record
“garden), Rosen HAGEN (rose-hedge), Rosenzweig (rose-branch), Rosenstiel, Rosenstock, Rosen - STENGEL (rose-stem), Rosen kranz (rose-crown), Rosenweber (weaver of roses, i. 6., into garlands). Perhaps also such as English Rosethorn, Ros- TERNE ; English Hawthorn, Hagdorn, Germ. Hagedorn ; Eng. Prjmerose, EngHsh…”
— The Teutonic Name-System applied to the family names of France, England and Germany