Angela Name Meaning: Middle Names, Similar Names & History

What Does Angela Mean?

Angela comes from the Greek “angelos,” which means both “messenger” and “messenger of God.” It originally referred to an “angel” or “divine messenger” in the New Testament but also means “envoy” or “one that announces.” Some also link Angela with the Greek “angaros,” which means “mounted courier,” another term for a messenger.

What Is the Origin of the Name Angela?

Angela is based on the Latin “angelus” and Greek “angelos,” specifically referring to a “messenger of God” in the Bible. Angela first appeared as a name in 14th-century Italy and was used throughout the 16th-century. It grew in popularity because of Saint Angela Merici of Brescia, the 16th-century founder of the Order of Ursulines.

Angela appeared in the English-speaking world as a girl’s name in the 19th-century. In the 20th-century, Angela grew common as a Catholic favorite for babies born on Sept. 29, the feast of Saint Michael and All Angels.

How Popular Is the Name Angela?

Angela has been commonly used for American girls since 1922. It was the most popular in the 1960s and 1970s, peaking 5th in 1975 for U.S. girls. It stayed in the top 200 names in the U.S. throughout the 1990s. Angela isn’t as popular these days as more stylized names like Angelina or Evangeline. Angela ranked 256th for girls in the U.S. in 2023.

Angela remains a favorite in Italy but was ranked 37th at the turn of the 21st-century, yet ranked 96th in recent years.

How Do I Pronounce Angela?

Angela is pronounced “AEN-jhah-Laah” in English and “Ahn-JHEHL-aa” in Italian.

Is Angela a Boy or Girl Name?

Angela is traditionally a girl’s name.

Variations of Angela

Many of these variations for Angela use different spellings and accents to reflect cultural heritage:

• Aingeal (Irish)
• Anđa (Croatian)
• Anděla (Czech)
• Andjela (Serbian)
• Andżelika (Polish)
• Angel (English)
• Angelia (English)
• Angelica (English)
• Angelika (Hungarian)
• Angélique (French)
• Angella (English)
• Àngels (Catalan)
• Angiola (Italian)
• Anhelina (Ukrainian)
• Ánxela (Galician
• Anxhela (Albanian)
• Anzhela (Russian)
• Anželika (Lithuanian)

Nicknames for Angela

There are tons of fun-loving options for short forms of Angela:

• Ale
• Ang
• Ange
• Angel
• Angie
• Angy
• Annie
• Ella
• Gela
• Gigi
• Lala

Similar Names to Angela

Many names like Angela end in “-a,” but not all of them do:

• Angelica
• Anneliese
• Augusta
• Ava
• Celeste
• Evangeline
• Grace
• Isabella
• Julia
• Linda
• Maureen
• Melissa
• Mia
• Natalie
• Ophelia
• Penelope
• Saoirse
• Sharon
• Sophia
• Teresa

Middle Names for Angela

Anyone named Angela can benefit from these short but sweet girl middle names:

• Belle
• Daphne
• Eden
• Elise
• Faith
• Faye
• Greta
• Ivy
• Josie
• Joy
• Juliet
• Kaitlyn
• Lila
• Mae
• Marie
• Rose
• Sage
• Tess
• Violet
• Zoe

Sibling Names for Angela

Your little Angela would love to have a brother or sister with one of these distinctive names:

• Amelia
• Arielle
• Beatrice
• Benny
• Dominic
• Eden
• Eleanor
• Elizabeth
• Eloise
• Forest
• Frances
• Jasper
• Leo
• Louisa
• Luther
• Ruby
• Theo
• Victor
• Will
• Xavier

Famous People Named Angela

Angela is a name known the world over for famous women who impress:

• Angela “Big Ang” Raiola: American reality television personality for the series “Mob Wives.”
• Angela C. Santomero: American co-creator of the Nickelodeon show “Blue’s Clues.”
• Angela C. Yeo: American second highest-ranked female bodybuilder.
• Angela de Jong: Dutch journalist for the “Rotterdams Dagblad.”
• Angela Gerekou: President of the Greek National Tourism Organization.
• Angela Gheorghiu: Romanian opera singer at the Royal Opera House.
• Angela Ginovska: Macedonian footballer for the North Macedonia national team.
• Angela Kalule: Ugandan musician and winner at the 2011 Pearl of Africa Music Awards.
• Angela Lago: Brazilian children’s author and winner of the Jabuti Prize for Literature.
• Angela Lanza: American singer known for participating in USO tours.
• Angela Marino: New Zealand basketball player with the Adelaide Lightning.
• Angela Merkel: Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021.
• Angela Peñaherrera: Ecuadorian actress with the band Moshi Moshi.
• Angela Postma: Dutch freestyle swimmer and 1994 gold medalist.
• Angela Rayner: English Member of Parliament.
• Angela Rippon: English TV journalist who presents the “Nine O’Clock News.”
• Angela Ruch: American stock car racer competing in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series.
• Angela Tong: Hong Kong actress and Miss Chinese Montreal 1995.
• Angela Valle: Honduran writer who won the Premio Nacional de Poesía Juan Ramón Molina prize.
• Angela Zago: Venezuelan member of the 1999 National Constituent Assembly.

Angela in Popular Culture

Angela is a well-known name for girls and a popular choice in entertainment:

• Angela Anaconda: Character in the Canadian animated series “Angela Anaconda.”
• Angela Channing: Character from the TV series “Falcon Crest.”
• Angela Chase: Name of a character from the series “My So-Called Life.”
• Angela DuPre: Character in the book “Found” by Margaret Peterson Haddix.
• Angela Harris: Character from the English soap opera “Coronation Street.”
• Angela Ledore: Character appearing in the video game Professor Layton.
• Angela Li: Character in the MTV animated show “Daria.”
• Angela Martin: Character from the TV series “The Office.”
• Angela Montenegro: Character appearing in the TV series “Bones.”
• Angela Moss: Character name from the series “Mr. Robot.”
• Angela Orosco: Character appearing in the Silent Hill video game.
• Angela Smith: Character in the children’s animated series “Mona the Vampire.”
• Angela Weber: Character in “The Twilight Saga” book and film series.
• Angela Ziegler: Supporting character in the video game Overwatch.
• Angela: Character appearing in both Image and Marvel Comics.
• Angela: Character from the Netflix series “Stranger Things.”
• Angela: Character name in the TV series “Family Guy.”
• Talking Angela: Cat character in the game Talking Angela.

Angela FAQs

Find out a few additional facts about the name Angela:

What Is the Japanese Name of Angela?

The Japanese equivalent to Angela appears in Japanese katakana characters as Anjera. In Japanese katakana, Anjera means everything from “apricot tree” and “rainbow” to “arch” and “bow.” In Japanese kanji characters, Anjera means “peaceful,” “tranquil,” and “calm.” It can also mean “art,” “skill,” and “orchid.” Nicknames for Anjera include Anchan, Jerachan, and Anjechan.

What Is the Male Name for Angela?

The male equivalent for Angela is typically Angelo, also meaning “messenger of God” or “angel.” Angelo ranked the 50th most popular boy’s name in Italy until 2017. It ranked among the top 300 U.S. boy names, hitting 299th in 2023, and is very common among Italian Americans. The Spanish male form of Angela is usually Ángel, which is officially unisex.

Is There a City Named Angela?

The community of Angela is located in Rosebud County, Montana, in the U.S. state of Montana. It’s unclear how Angela, Montana, got its name, but Angela has influenced other locales, too. Los Angeles, CA, would not exist without the “angelus” root of Angela, meaning “angel.” Los Angeles is known as the City of the Angels.