Angela

Did you know?

A few things about Angela you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Angela

Angela Davis

American political activist, scholar, and author (born 1944)

Choose Angela and your child shares a first name with Angela Davis, an American political activist, scholar, and author. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Angela, like who?” Angela Davis's Wikipedia article is available in 88 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Angela Davis on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Columbia GSAPP, CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 2,101 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Angela, 765 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Angela would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryAngela has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Angelas, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1976, when it ranked #5. Today it's #408, so it could be due a comeback.
• 📉Then vs nowAngela was 4.4× more common in 2000 than it is today. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 474 baby girls; in 2025, about 1 in 2,101.
• 🍂TrendAngela has slipped 157 places over the last five years and now sits at #408. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 📍Where it's lovedAngela is most popular in Delaware, where it ranks #167, followed by Arizona (#273) and California (#287). It's in the top 1,000 in 34 states.
• 💬MeaningIn Greek, Angela means “messenger”. Our records link it to English, Greek and Italian roots.

About the name Angela

Angela is a girl name of English, Greek and Italian origin meaning “messenger”. It has 6 letters and 3 syllables, starting with A and ending in “-ela”. US birth records list Angela for girls from 1880 to 2025, in 146 of those 146 years. Its best year was 1976, when it ranked #5 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #408, with 765 babies.

Origin:English namesGreek namesItalian namesLatin names