Angela last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Angela is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Angela.

Meaning of Angela

An Italian surname derived from the Latin name "Angelus", meaning messenger or angel.

Angela, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Angela surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Angela in America

Angela is the 81181st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Angela surname appeared 233 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Angela.

We can also compare 2010 data for Angela to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

20102000Change (%)
Rank81181777424.33%
Count2332291.73%
Proportion per 100k0.080.080.00%

The history of the last name Angela

The surname Angela is derived from the Latin name Angelus, meaning "angel" or "messenger of God." Its origins can be traced back to medieval Italy, particularly in regions such as Tuscany and Umbria.

The earliest documented instances of the surname Angela date back to the 13th century. One notable example is Angelus de Spoleto, a Franciscan friar and theologian who lived in the city of Spoleto during the mid-1200s. His surname, Angelus, was likely a variation of Angela, reflecting the common practice of Latinizing surnames during that period.

In the 14th century, the name Angela appeared in various records, such as the Florentine Catasto of 1427, which documented taxpayers in the city of Florence. This suggests that the surname had gained popularity among urban families in Tuscany.

As the centuries progressed, the Angela surname spread to other regions of Italy and beyond. One notable figure was Angela Merici (1474-1540), a religious educator and founder of the Ursuline Order of nuns. Her family hailed from the town of Desenzano del Garda, located in the Lombardy region.

Another prominent individual bearing the Angela surname was Federico Angela (1502-1572), an Italian Renaissance architect and sculptor. He was born in Viterbo, Lazio, and contributed to the design and construction of several notable buildings, including the Palazzo dei Conservatori in Rome.

In the 17th century, the Angela surname appeared in Spanish records, likely due to the influence of Italian immigrants and the cultural exchange between the two countries. One example is Juan de Angela (1590-1655), a Spanish painter and engraver who worked in Madrid and Seville.

As the name spread across Europe, it underwent various spellings and regional variations. In France, for instance, the surname was sometimes recorded as Angeli or Angély, reflecting the French pronunciation of the name.

Other notable individuals with the Angela surname include Giacomo Angela (1825-1890), an Italian politician and lawyer who served as a deputy in the Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy, and Filippo Angela (1856-1925), an Italian painter and engraver known for his works depicting rural life and landscapes.

While the surname Angela has its roots in medieval Italy, it has since been adopted and carried by families across various regions and cultures, reflecting the widespread influence of Italian heritage and the enduring appeal of names with religious and angelic connotations.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Angela

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Angela.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Angela was:

Race/EthnicityPercentageTotal Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only66.09%154
Non-Hispanic Black Only8.15%19
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only7.73%18
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races(S)%(S)
Hispanic Origin15.45%36

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Angela has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

20102000Change (%)
White66.09%67.69%-2.39%
Black8.15%9.17%-11.78%
Asian and Pacific Islander7.73%4.37%55.54%
American Indian and Alaskan Native(S)%(S)%(S)%
Two or More Races(S)%(S)%(S)%
Hispanic15.45%14.85%3.96%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Angela was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Angela, please contact us.

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