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Vogel Family History

Vogel Surname Meaning

German, Dutch, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle High German, Middle Low German vogel, German Vogel ‘bird’, applied as a nickname for a happy person or someone who liked to sing, or a metonymic occupational name for a bird catcher.

As a Jewish name, it is mainly artificial. The surname of German origin is also found e.g. in Poland, Czechia, and Slovenia, where it was often applied as a translation into German of Slavic cognates like Czech Pták and Polish Ptak or Czech Ptáček (see Ptacek).

It is also found in France (Alsace and Lorraine). Compare Bird, Fogal, Fogel, and Fogle.

Germanized form (translation into German) of Sorbian Ptačk: nickname from an Upper Sorbian diminutive of ptak ‘bird’.

Jewish (Ashkenazic): from the Yiddish female personal name Foygl, cognate with 1 above.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


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Where is the Vogel family from?

You can see how Vogel families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Vogel family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Vogel families were found in USA in 1880. In 1840 there were 15 Vogel families living in Pennsylvania. This was about 60% of all the recorded Vogel's in USA. Pennsylvania had the highest population of Vogel families in 1840.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Vogel surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
  • 1840
  • 1880
  • 1920
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What did your Vogel ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Farmer and Stenographer were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Vogel. 12% of Vogel men worked as a Farmer and 8% of Vogel women worked as a Stenographer. Some less common occupations for Americans named Vogel were Clerk and Clerk.

View Census Data for Vogel | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1940

  • Farmer
    12%
  • Laborer
    10%
  • Salesman
    7%
  • Clerk
    4%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

  • Stenographer
    8%
  • Housewife
    7%
  • Housekeeper
    6%
  • Clerk
    6%

What Vogel family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 125,000 census records available for the last name Vogel. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Vogel census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search US census records for Vogel

Passenger Lists

There are 41,000 immigration records available for the last name Vogel. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the USA, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Vogel immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 57,000 military records available for the last name Vogel. For the veterans among your Vogel ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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