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ANGYAL Origin of surname
ANGYAL
Surnames derive from one of many different origins. Sometimes there may be more than one explanation for the same name. It may be a surname deriving from a personal nickname or characteristic.
Angyal is the Hungarian for Angel. Angel is a translation of the Hebrew word Malach. Malakh/Malach means "messenger/angel" in the Bible. The Book of Malachi, the twelfth of the minor Prophets in the Bible, starts with a sentence comprising the personal name Malachi (Hebrew for "my angel"). The name may also be a toponymic (derived from a geographic name of a town, city, region or country). Surnames that are based on place names do not always testify to direct origin from that place, but may indicate an indirect relation between the name-bearer or his ancestors and the place, such as birth place, temporary residence, trade, or family-relatives. The surname Malachi is also linked to the Mediterranean port of Malaqui in Malaga in Andalusia, Spain.
A number of Jewish family names documented between the 13th and 20th century are based on one or both these sources. Malakh/Malach and Malachi/Malaqui were translated into the Greek Angelos, the Latin Angelus, the Italian Angelino ("little angel"), and the German Engel (which could also be based on one of the house-signs often found in the Middle Ages in Germany). Malaki is recorded in France, and Angelus in Rome in the 13th century; Emelque and Malaqui in Spain, and Angelino in France in the 14th century; Maleque and Abenmeleque in Spain in the 15th century; Angel in Mexico and Bulgaria in the 16th century; Malqui in Eretz Israel, Engel in northern Bohemia and Malki in Rhodes in the 17th century; Elmalqui in North Africa in the 18th century; Ben Elmalki, Ben Elmalqui and Ben Almalqui in North Africa in the 19th century; and Angyal in the 19th century in Hungary. In the late 16th century Angel is documented as a Jewish surname in Mexico with Fray Angel, also known as LOrenzo Altamirano.
Distinguished bearers of the Jewish family name Angyal include the Hungarian novelist, Anna Angyal (1848-1874), the 19th/20th century Hungarian historian, A. David Angyal, and the Hungariansculptor, Jozsef Angyal (1815-1901), also known as Engel.
Written by researchers of ANU Museum of the Jewish People