A German and Dutch surname, Vogel comes from the Middle High German term of ’vogel’ referring to a bird. Variations in spelling Vogel include Vagel, Vogele, Voegel, Voegler, Vogl, Vakel, Fogel and Voegelein. From the Thuringia area of Germany, near Hessen and Saxony the Vogel families originated. In England Vogel families are in Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cornwall, Essex, Kent, Warwickshire and the city of London. In Scotland the Vogel families reside in Lanarkshire, Midlothian and Stirlingshire counties. Within the United States the Vogel families settled across most of the United States. The majority lived in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, California, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and New York. Famous: Darlene Vogel (a movie and television actress), Arthur Vogel (a renown photographer and publisher of photo postcards from Germany), Johann Vogel (a 18th century music composer from Germany), Marcel J. Vogel (a scientist and inventor of the liquid crystal system for IBM), Hermann Carl Vogel (a 19th century astronomer from Germany), Vic Vogel (a jazz musician from Canada), Mitch Vogel (a movie and television actor), Paula Vogel (a playwright and winner of Pulitzer Prize in Drama) and Mike Vogel (a television and film actor).