I would like to receive information on the origins of the Ziegler name
also.
THE MEANING, SPELLING, AND PRONUNCIATION OF OUR NAME
Either "Ziegler" or "Ziegeler" was probably the original spelling
based
on the combination of the German word "ziegel", which means roof tile,
and the suffix "er", which denotes a person who worked with that object
or in that occupation. Thus, a "ziegler" is one who made or used roofing tiles.
The two most common spellings found are Ziegler and Zeigler. Other
variations include Zigler, Zeagler, Zeegler, Siegler, Sigler, Sechler,
etc. But how did these variations come to be?
"At the time of the large German emigration, the vast majority of the
clerks in America were English. They spelled these difficult German names
the way they heard them. The second factor involved was the desire of
these immigrants to "fit in" their new land and to be like their English
neighbors. Hence, "Ziegler" became "Sigler", etc."
Then there is the question of proper pronunciation. In German you
pronounce the second vowel and not the first. So the vowel combination
'ie' is pronounced with a long 'e' sound, as in 'see', and
'ei' is
pronounced with a long 'i' sound, as in 'sigh'. The German 'z' has
a 't'
sound before it and the 'z' is not as "hard" as the English; it is
really
more like an 's'. So, ZIEGLER pronounced by a German would sound like
'TS-EE-GLER', whereas ZEIGLER would sound like'TS-EYE-GLER'.
Blessings,
Brad Ziegler