Frequency: (728)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): metonymic occupational name for a maker of needles, or in some cases for a tailor, from Middle High German nādel(e), German Nadel ‘needle’.
GIVEN NAMES: Jewish 5%. Emanuel (2), Abbe, Dov, Moishe, Ofer, Sol.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
