Anghel
A masculine name of Greek origin meaning "messenger" or "angel".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Anghel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Anghel today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Anghel births was 2003 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Anghel. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Anghel with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Anghel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
2003
6 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2003 SSA rank
#9,640
Tracked since 2003
Popularity
Anghel: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Anghel by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Anghel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Anghel
The name Anghel is derived from the Greek word "angelos," which means "messenger" or "angel." It is the Romanian version of the name Angel, which is also found in other languages such as Spanish and Italian. The name has its roots in ancient Greek mythology and was later adopted by early Christian communities, who associated it with the celestial beings known as angels.
In the early days of Christianity, the name Anghel was often given to children in honor of the archangels, such as Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, who played significant roles in the Bible. The name was particularly popular in the Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition, which had a strong presence in regions like Romania, where the Romanian language developed.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Anghel can be found in the Romanian principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, where it was used by members of the nobility and clergy as early as the 14th century. In the late 15th century, a Romanian prince named Anghel Saligny ruled over the region of Oltenia, which was part of the Wallachian principality.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Anghel. In the 19th century, Anghel Saligny (1854-1925) was a prominent Romanian civil engineer and inventor, best known for his contributions to bridge construction and the development of the Danube-Black Sea Canal.
Another influential figure was Anghel Panu (1852-1910), a Romanian writer, journalist, and political activist who played a significant role in the country's cultural and literary movements during the late 19th century.
Anghel Alexandrescu (1892-1963) was a Romanian chess master and one of the strongest players in the world during the early 20th century. He participated in several prestigious international tournaments and was awarded the title of International Grandmaster by FIDE, the world chess governing body.
In the realm of sports, Anghel Iordănescu (born 1950) is a former Romanian football player and manager who led the Romanian national team to the quarter-finals of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, their best performance in the tournament.
Finally, Anghel Rugină (1913-2008) was a Romanian writer and journalist, known for his contributions to the country's literary scene during the mid-20th century. His works often explored themes of rural life and the struggles of the Romanian people under various political regimes.
People
Anghel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Anghel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Anghel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Anghel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Anghel going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Anghel a common name?
We classify Anghel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Anghel most popular?
The single biggest year for Anghel was 2003, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Anghel is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Anghel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Anghel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Anghel in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Anghel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Anghel in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Anghel can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Anghel?
Find out how many people share the name Anghel on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.