Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German sigu "victory" + munt "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it Segimundus. There appears to be an older form of the High German word "Sieg" (victory): sigis, obviously Gothic and an inferred Germanic form, and there is a younger form: sigi, which is Old Saxon or Old High German sigu (both from about 9th century). A 5th century Prince of Burgundy was known both as Sigismund and Sigimund (see Ernst Förstemann, Altdeutsche Personennamen, 1906; Henning Kaufmann, Altdeutsche Personennamen, Ergänzungsband,1968). Its Hungarian equivalent is Zsigmond.
A Lithuanian name Žygimantas, meaning "wealth of (military) campaign", from Lithuanian žygis "campaign, march" + manta "goods, wealth" has been a substitution of the name Sigismund in the Lithuanian language, from which it was adopted by the Ruthenian language as Жыгімонт (such are the cases of Sigismund Kestutaitis, Sigismund Korybut, Sigismund I the Old, Sigismund II Augustus). The Polish spelling is Zygmunt, and the Croatian variant is Žigmund.
Sigismund was the name of various European rulers:
- Saint Sigismund of Burgundy (died 523), King of the Burgundians
- Sigismund I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (died 1405)
- Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368–1437), also King of Hungary and King of Bohemia
- Sigismund Kęstutaitis (c. 1365–1440), Grand Duke of Lithuania
- Sigismund Korybut (c. 1395-c. 1435), Lithuanian duke who participated in Hussite Wars
- Sigismund II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (died after 1452)
- Sigismund, Archduke of Austria (1427–1496), ruler of Further Austria
- Sigismund of Bavaria (1439–1501), Duke of Bavaria
- Sigismund I the Old (1467–1548), King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania
- Sigismund von Herberstein (1486–1566), Carniolan diplomat, writer, historian and member of the Holy Roman Empire Imperial Council
- Sigismund II Augustus (1520–1572), King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania
- Sigismund of Brandenburg (1538–1566), Prince-Archbishop of Magdeburg and Administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Halberstadt
- Sigismund Rákóczi (died 1608), briefly Prince of Transylvania
- Sigismund III Vasa (1566–1632), King of Poland, Sweden and Grand Duke of Lithuania
- Sigismund Báthory (1572–1613), Prince of Transylvania
- John Sigismund (1572-1618), Elector of Brandenburg
- Sigismund Francis of Austria (1630–1665), ruler of Further Austria
- Prince Sigismund of Prussia (1864-1866)
- Prince Sigismund of Prussia (1896–1978)
- Ishak Bey Kraloğlu or Sigismund of Bosnia (born in the 1450s?), son of King Stephen Thomas of Bosnia
Others named Sigismund include:
- Sigismund Albicus (c. 1360–1427), Roman Catholic Archbishop of Prague
- Sigismund Bachrich (1841–1913), Hungarian composer, violinist and violist
- Sigismund Payne Best (1885–1978), British secret agent during the First and Second World Wars
- Sigismund von Braun (1911–1998), German diplomat and Secretary of State
- Sigmund Freud (1856–1939), Austrian founder of psychoanalysis born Sigismund Schlomo Freud
- Sigismund Gelenius (1497–1554), eminent Greek scholar and humanist
- Sigismund von Götzen (1576–1650), German diplomat and politician
- Sigismund Ernst Hohenwart (1745–1825), Bishop of Linz
- Sigismund Koelle (1820–1902), German missionary and pioneer scholar of African languages
- Sigismund Ernst Richard Krone (1861–1917), German naturalist, zoologist, spelunker, archaeologist and researcher
- Sigismund Mendl (1866—1945), British politician
- Sigismund von Neukomm (1778–1858), Austrian composer and pianist
- Sigismund Felix Freiherr von Ow-Felldorf (1855–1936), Bishop of Passau
- Sigismund von Reitzenstein (1766–1847), first minister of state of the Grand Duchy of Baden
- Sigismund von Schlichting (1829–1909), Prussian general and military theorist
- Sigismund von Schrattenbach (1698–1771), Archbishop of Salzburg
- Sigismund Streit (1687–1775), German merchant and art patron in Venice
- Sigismund Zaremba (1861–1915), Ukrainian and Russian composer
- Sigismund Zinzan, an equerry to Queen Elizabeth I of England
Sigismund may also refer to fictional characters:
- Segismundo, main character of Calderón de la Barca's La vida es sueño.
- Sigismund, a Space Marine character from the Warhammer 40,000 novel series, The Horus Heresy.
Other things named Sigismund:
- Sigismund Bell, a famous bell in the Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, cast in 1520
See also
- Sigmund (given name) for people named Sigmund or Siegmund
- Sig (given name)