ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 861
http://www.s-gabriel.org/861
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* NOTE: Some of the Academy's early reports     *
*       contain errors that we haven't yet      *
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24 Apr 1998
From: Diana Slivinska 

Greetings from the Academy of St. Gabriel!

Here is the information we found on "Reigal," which you would like to
use as a pre-16th century German name.

We didn't find "Reigal" exactly in our sources, but we did find the
surname "Reigel" or "Reiger," both of which derive from a word meaning
"heron".  It was probably first used as a descriptive byname for someone
with very long legs, and later continued to be used as an inherited
surname.

Forms of "Reiger" occur during the 13th and 14th centuries: "B. gen.
Raiger" 1275; "B. called Raiger," "Willeke Reygher" 1339, and "Ru:del
Reiger" or "Reier" 1373. (1)  The character "u:" is used here to
indicate "u-umlaut," which looks like an English "u" with two dots over
it.

Under the surname "Reigel," another source refers the reader to "Reiger"
and "Reger" but does cite an "Endris Raygel" in 1525. (2)  It mentions
that the name is from the Middle High German "reiger" or "reigel,"
meaning "heron."

Based on these examples and our knowledge of medieval German, we think
that "Reigal" is an unlikely period spelling of this name.  We recommend
that you use one of the forms we've cited.  "Reigel," the closest to
your spelling, is a good byname (for a tall or long-legged person) or
surname from about 1300 onward.  It is pronounced, roughly, \RYE-gl\.

We hope this has been helpful, and that we can continue to assist you.

Talan Gwynek, Margaret Makafee, Elisabeth de Rossignol and Arval d'Espas
Nord contributed to this letter.

In service,
Giulietta da Venezia
Academy of S. Gabriel

(1) Bahlow, Hans, tr. Edda Gentry, Dictionary of German Names, Max Kade
Institute for German-American Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison,
1993.

(2) Brechenmacher, Josef Karlmann, _Etymologisches Worterbuch der
deutschen familiennamen,_Limburg a. d. Lahn, C. A. Starke-Verlag,
1957-1960.