Angela
Greek angelos, “messenger,” which became the Christian “angel.”
Popularity, 1880–2025
From the Latin for angel, it rode the postwar wave of Latinate girls' names to a 1970s high.
Angela appears in the national records from the very first year, 1880. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American girls in every year from 1956 to 2002. It spent 15 years inside the top 10. Its biggest year was 1971, when 25,901 newborn girls received the name, ranking it No. 6 nationally. Its best ranking came in 1974, at No. 5. In 2025 it ranked No. 408 for girls. All told, 675,392 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Angella (3,581), Angila (613), Angla (511) (total births since 1880)
Other names that share a story: Angelina
Explore Angela interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 232 | No. 360 |
| 1890s | 671 | No. 298 |
| 1900s | 1,400 | No. 248 |
| 1910s | 5,518 | No. 212 |
| 1920s | 6,273 | No. 233 |
| 1930s | 6,518 | No. 214 |
| 1940s | 12,256 | No. 150 |
| 1950s | 40,357 | No. 68 |
| 1960s | 159,294 | No. 7 |
| 1970s | 225,262 | No. 5 |
| 1980s | 116,595 | No. 12 |
| 1990s | 45,171 | No. 52 |
| 2000s | 31,319 | No. 77 |
| 2010s | 15,494 | No. 160 |
| 2020s | 6,897 | No. 226 |
Births and rank shown for girls, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.