Angler
One who fishes with a hook and line.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Angler. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Angler today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Angler births was 2014 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Angler. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Angler. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2014
5 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2014 SSA rank
#12,223
Tracked since 2014
Popularity
Angler: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Angler 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 Angler during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Angler
The name Angler has its roots in the Old English language, originating from the word "anglen," which means "to fish with a hook and line." This word can be traced back to the Proto-Germanic "anglon," derived from the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European root "ank-," meaning "to bend or curve."
The name first emerged in the early medieval period, around the 7th to 8th centuries, when fishing was a significant economic and subsistence activity in Anglo-Saxon England. It was likely initially used as a descriptive surname for individuals engaged in the occupation of fishing or angling.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Angler can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears as a surname, indicating its use as a hereditary name by that time.
In the 12th century, the name Angler is mentioned in the historical chronicles of William of Malmesbury, a renowned English monk and historian. He documented the exploits of a knight named Angler, who participated in the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.
During the Renaissance period, a notable figure with the name Angler was Sir Francis Angler (1510-1587), an English diplomat and Member of Parliament. He served as the Ambassador to Denmark and played a crucial role in negotiating treaties between England and other European nations.
In the 17th century, the name Angler gained prominence with the influential work of Izaak Walton (1593-1683), an English writer and biographer. His book "The Compleat Angler," published in 1653, is considered a classic work on the art of angling and has been widely read and celebrated by anglers and literary enthusiasts alike.
Another prominent individual with the name Angler was William Angler (1677-1744), an English mathematician and astronomer. He made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1724.
While the name Angler has its origins in the occupation of fishing, it has transcended that association over time and is now used as a given name in its own right, representing a connection to nature, leisure, and the pursuit of outdoor activities.
People
Angler + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Angler 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
Angler: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Angler?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Angler 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Angler a common name?
We classify Angler as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Angler most popular?
The single biggest year for Angler was 2014, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Angler is about 12 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 Angler in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Angler a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Angler 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 Angler still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Angler 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 Angler 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 common is the name Angler?
See how many people share the name Angler on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.