Zindel

Zindel is a surname of Germanic origin. It is found among German-speaking populations and in North America, where it arrived with German and Jewish immigrants.

The most widely known bearer is Paul Zindel (1936–2003), an American playwright, novelist, and educator. His stage play The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1970) won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1971. He also wrote the popular young adult novel The Pigman (1968), which has remained widely read in schools. Zindel’s work often centers on adolescence, family dynamics, and social issues, using accessible language to explore serious themes.

In historical records, Zindel appears with various spellings and may overlap with related surnames in some genealogies. Today, the name is most commonly found in the United States and in parts of Europe where Germanic and Ashkenazi Jewish heritage are present.