Given name & surname · also English, Classical Greek

Angel

“messenger”·“messenger of God”·“a messenger of God”

Angel carries the idea of a messenger, with both a religious history and an affectionate everyday meaning.

Meaning & origin

What it means

Interpretations include “messenger” (Greek and English), “messenger of God” (Greek and English), and “a messenger of God” (Greek). These may reflect different naming traditions.

Where it comes from

This spelling has been associated with Greek and English naming traditions.

How it developed

In Cebuano usage, Angel developed from the Spanish form Ángel.

The story

Angel Clare, a male character in Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles, illustrates the name’s history in English masculine use. Its later use for girls also draws on angel as a term of endearment.

Angel through the years

Babies since 1880: 366,174; 265,886 boys · 100,288 girls
Most popular year: 2006; 13,828 babies
2025: 5,308; #67 for boys · #546 for girls
2021–25 vs 2016–20: −7%; Steady

Boys Girls

Angel in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1888–2025, per million births of each sex. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.

Boys, girls and both

The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 87% boys.

Boys Girls

Five-year rolling share of U.S. births. Blank stretches had too few births to read.

Where it’s given

Most at home inNew Mexico, Nevada, Arizona

FewerMore, relative to births Not published

2025 births by state of birth. Tiles are equal-sized so small states stay visible. Highest rates: New Mexico (53), Nevada (73), Arizona (199), Texas (1,012), California (996).

By the numbers

In 2025, this name appeared in 4,757 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 67 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 3.5% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 11,602 in 2006. It also appeared in 551 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (942). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 348,575 as a first name in 2020; 23,588 as a surname in 2020.

From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.

Angel’s family of names

Angel shares a linguistic root with Angelo. In English usage, Angel has a related form in Angela. Angel has a related form in Angie.

Walk Angel’s family in the name graph

Around the world

Angel has relatives in 9 languages. Lines run from its Ancient Greek roots to each of them.

18 related names in 9 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.

Each dot marks where a language is rooted, not where people with the name live today. Bigger dots hold more names. Dots on the border stand for languages further away. Language locations from Glottolog (CC BY 4.0); map from Natural Earth.

Nicknames & forms 20

Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.

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Spellings & scripts 5

The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.

Across languages 14

Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.

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People named Angel

Characters named Angel: Angel Batista (the Showtime television series Dexter).

Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.

Appears in

Similar names

If you love Angel, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

French · Literary

Sibling ideas

Names that share Angel’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.

A brother for Angel

A sister for Angel

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