Evangela
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "bearer of good news".
Name Census estimates that about 272 living Americans carry the first name Evangela. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Evangela today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Evangela births was 1969 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Evangela. 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.
People living today
272
~ 1 in 1,260,126 Americans
Peak year
1969
17 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
2012 SSA rank
#13,954
Tracked since 1957
Census
Evangela in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 342 people with the first name Evangela, which placed it at #26,967 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#26,967
National first-name rank
People counted
342
342 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
64.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Evangela
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Evangela is Black at 64.3%. The next largest groups are White (18.4%) and Hispanic (9.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Evangela described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Evangela at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American64.3% · 220
- White18.4% · 63
- Hispanic or Latino9.1% · 31
- Two or more races4.4% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 5
Popularity
Evangela: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Evangela from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 109 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Evangela 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 Evangela during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Evangela
The name Evangela is derived from the Greek word "evangelion," which means "good news" or "gospel." Its origins can be traced back to the early Christian era, when the word was used to refer to the teachings of Jesus Christ and the message of salvation that his followers sought to spread.
In its earliest form, the name Evangela was likely used as a feminine variant of the masculine name Evangelus or Evangelius, which were derived from the same Greek root. These names were given to children born into Christian families as a way of honoring their faith and expressing their commitment to the gospel message.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Evangela can be found in the writings of Saint Jerome, a 4th-century Christian scholar and translator of the Bible. He mentions a woman named Evangela in one of his letters, though little is known about her beyond her name.
In the Middle Ages, the name Evangela gained popularity in various parts of Europe, particularly in regions with strong Christian traditions. It was sometimes used as a shortened form of the name Evangelina or Evangelista, which were also derived from the Greek word "evangelion."
One notable figure who bore the name Evangela was Evangela Merici, an Italian religious leader who founded the Order of Ursulines in the 16th century. She was born in 1474 and is recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church for her work in promoting education for girls and women.
Another Evangela of historical significance was Evangela Caravaggio, an Italian painter who lived in the 16th and 17th centuries. She was a follower of the renowned artist Caravaggio and is known for her religious paintings and portraits.
In the 19th century, the name Evangela was particularly popular in Greece and other parts of the Eastern Orthodox Christian world. One notable bearer of the name from this era was Evangela Ducaina Stratigo, a Greek poet and writer who lived in the late 19th century and was known for her works celebrating Greek culture and history.
Another notable Evangela from this time period was Evangela Orlov, a Russian philanthropist and social reformer who worked to improve the lives of women and children in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
While the name Evangela has its roots in the Christian tradition, it has been used by people of various faiths and cultural backgrounds throughout history. It remains a relatively uncommon name in many parts of the world, but its connection to the concept of "good news" and the gospel message has ensured its enduring significance and appeal.
People
Evangela + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Evangela as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Evangela: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Evangela?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 272 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Evangela 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 1,260,126 US residents.
Is Evangela a common name?
We classify Evangela as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 310 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Evangela most popular?
The single biggest year for Evangela was 1969, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Evangela is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Evangela in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 342 people with the name Evangela, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,967 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Evangela in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Evangela?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Evangela appears almost entirely female. Of the 349 people counted with this name, 99.4% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Evangela?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Evangela is Black at 64.3%. The next largest groups are White (18.4%) and Hispanic (9.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Evangela most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Evangela in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.3% (220 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Evangela in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Evangela a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Evangela in the SSA data are female. 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 Evangela still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Evangela 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 Evangela 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.
How many Americans are named Evangela?
You can see how many Americans are named Evangela on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.