Surname Segner - Meaning and Origin
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Segner: What does the surname Segner mean?
The last name Segner is derived from a Germanic given name containing the elements seggen, which means "to say," and hari, meaning "army." The combination of these two elements created an occupational surname for someone who served as an herald or messenger in a medieval army.
Originally, this would have been an important role for a medieval lord or monarch, as it was an important source of communications between different armies or within a given army. As an independent professional messenger, the Segner family would have been respected in the community and had a good economic standing.
In medieval Europe, Army messengers were responsible for delivering messages through hostile or potentially dangerous environments. This would have required a great deal of courage and dedication. Not surprisingly, even today, Segner families in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and many other parts of the world hold a great deal of respect and prestige in their respective communities.
In recent centuries, the Segner surname has spread to many other parts of the world, including Scandinavia, Britain, and parts of the United States. In any case, the Segner family is associated with a long and noble tradition of service and dedication to the communities they live in. Though the nature of the last name may have changed over the years, the Segner family still represents strength and courage.
Order DNA origin analysisSegner: Where does the name Segner come from?
The last name Segner is most common in Switzerland today. It was first found in the Middle Ages in the canton of Zurich. There it is most commonly associated with the town of Schiers and in other areas along the Sernf River in central Switzerland. The Segner family is an old, distinguished family from the area and has many well-known members, including John Philip Segner, a 19th century Swiss botanist, and Ernst Segner, a Swiss clockmaker.
Segner is also a fairly common last name in Germany, where it is believed to have its origins. It has been spelled differently over the years, including Seegner, Seigner, and Seickner. The last name has been recorded in many parts of the country, including Thuringia, Hesse, Bavaria, Saxony, and Lower Saxony, and is still quite common today.
The Segner family name is also found in the United States. Several people with the last name Segner emigrated from Switzerland and Germany to America in the 19th and 20th centuries. These immigrants settled mostly in Pennsylvania, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri and their descendants can still be found in these areas today.
Given its origin in Switzerland and Germany and its spread to other parts of the world, the last name Segner is quite a common name today. It is found in many countries in Europe, North America, and even further afield in places like New Zealand, South Africa, and Australia.
Variations of the surname Segner
The surname Segner has numerous variants such as Seigner, Seigneur, Seignior, Seigniorie, Seignor, Seignoret, Séjournet, Sigman, Sigmund, Signer and Seigneurie. It is mainly associated with French origin and some with German. The surname Segner originates from two distinct sources. Firstly, it was derived from an Old French word "seigneur" meaning lord, master, or feudal landholder. Secondly, it was derived from a Germanic personal name where "sigi" means victorious and "manu" means man, thus a victorious man.
The surname Segner is predominantly found in France and Germany. In France, the spelling of Segner is commonly used, while in Germany the surname can be found with slight variations such as Seigner. It has also spread to other parts of Europe where, for example, in Slovakia it can be found spelled as Sigman. In the United States and Canada, where a large number of immigrants with the surname Segner have settled, different spellings may be found, such as Seigner.
In some variations of the surname, a single letter is omitted or doubled up, such as Seigner and Seigneur. In other variations, the spelling is a combination of two or more different words, such as Seignior from the combination of Seigneur and Senor. In some cases, the surname Segner is also found as a double surname, such as Sigmund-Segner, and in other cases as a combination of two spellings, such as Seigneur-Seigner.
In summary, Segner is an Old French and Germanic surname which has evolved over time with various spellings and variations. The variations reflect the changing phonetic sound of the original surname as it spread over different geographies and languages. This surname is particularly common in countries such as France, Germany, the United States, and Canada.
Famous people with the name Segner
- Carl Segner (1722–1793): 18th century German physician and botanist
- Joacim Segner (1723–1774): Swedish soldier, politician, and courtier
- Philippe Segner (1777–1845): Swiss painter and lithographer
- Gregor Segner (1767–1810): German architect, sculptor and educationalist
- Mihály Segner (1794–1875): Hungarian mathematician and physicist
- Edward Segner (1799–1872): Hungarian-born American lawyer
- Georg Segner (1808–1886): Polish-born Russian geologist and mineralogist
- Levi Segner (1819–1898): Swiss ornithologist and naturalist
- Jonathan Segner (1827–1890): German diver and maritime expert
- Emil Segner (1838–1916): German-American portrait and landscape painter
- Constantine von Segner (1853–1938): Russian-born German journalist and political activist
- John Henry Segner (1858–1887): Canadian military officer
- George Segner (1860–1933): Canadian farmer and political figure
- Hermann Segner (1870–1944): German sculptor
- Paul Segner (1883–1960): German-born American artist
- Norman Segner (1896–1984): American motion picture art director
- Roy Segner (1919–2012): American football player
- James Segner (born 1937): American football player.