Frequency: (513)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
1. German (Zähler) and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from an agent derivative of German zahlen ‘to count’, Middle High German zalen, hence an occupational name for someone who kept count, i.e. a tallyman or clerk; also, for German, a nickname for a debtor.
2. German: from a reduced form of zagel (see Zahl), which also appears as a field name and hence a topographic name.
GIVEN NAMES: Jewish 4%. Avi (2), Miriam, Moshe.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
