2000
#5,864
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,410
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.01
Rare Last name
Angle
An English topographic surname for someone who lived in a corner or remote area of a village or town.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,110 Americans carry the last name Angle. That puts it at #6,163 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.78 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 56,097 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Angle surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Angle with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.1K
1 in 56,097
Census rank
#6,163
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,328 bearers of the surname Angle in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.78 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6163rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Angle, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Angle
The surname ANGLE is of English and German origin, derived from the Old English word "angel" and the Old German word "angul," both meaning "angle" or "hook." The name is believed to have originated as a topographic name, referring to someone who lived near a hooked or angular bend in a river or road.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname ANGLE can be traced back to the 13th century in England. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 mention a William le Angle in Oxfordshire, while the Yorkshire Poll Tax Returns of 1379 list a Johannes Aungel.
In Germany, the name is found in various historical records from the 16th century onwards, with spellings such as Angell, Angele, and Engel. The Kirchenbücher (church records) of Württemberg from 1558 mention a Hans Angell, and the Bürgerbuch (citizen register) of Augsburg from 1618 lists a Mathias Angele.
The surname ANGLE is also associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Sir Franck Angle (c. 1530-1594), an English merchant and member of the Company of Merchant Adventurers. In the 17th century, Christoff Angle (1625-1687) was a German Lutheran theologian and author from Saxony.
Other notable individuals with the surname ANGLE include:
1. Philip Angle (1816-1892), an American lawyer and politician who served as the 14th Governor of Nevada.
2. Edward Angle (1855-1930), an American dentist and orthodontist credited with establishing the first scientific system of orthodontic practice.
3. Katherine Angle (1900-1984), an American artist known for her modernist paintings and prints.
4. Paul Angle (1900-1975), an American author, editor, and bibliographer who specialized in the works of Abraham Lincoln.
5. Philip Angle (1942-2020), an American actor best known for his role as Reverend Jeremiah Ledbetter in the television series "The Waltons."
The surname ANGLE is also found in various place names, such as Angle Lake in Washington, USA, and Angle Village in Pembrokeshire, Wales, which likely derived its name from the Old English word "angel" meaning "hook" or "corner," referring to its location on the Angle Peninsula.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Angle
Among Census respondents with the surname Angle, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Angle bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Angle surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.9% · 4,736
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 245
- Two or more races3.3% · 178
- Black or African American1.8% · 96
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 48
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 25
Timeline
Historical Census data for Angle
Angle appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#6,035
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,693
+283 bearers (+5.2%)
Per 100,000 1.93
Rank movement Down 171 places
2020
#6,163
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,328
-365 bearers (-6.4%)
Per 100,000 1.78
Rank movement Down 128 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,864 | 5,410 | 2.01 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,035 | 5,693 | 1.93 | +283 bearers (+5.2%) | Down 171 places |
| 2020 | #6,163 | 5,328 | 1.78 | -365 bearers (-6.4%) | Down 128 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Angle surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #6,035 | #6,163 | -2.1% |
| Count | 5,693 | 5,328 | -6.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.93 | 1.78 | -7.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Angle bearers went from 5,693 to 5,328 (-6.4% change). The surname moved down 128 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,035 to #6,163.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Angle
FAQ
Angle surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Angle?
Name Census estimates that about 6,110 living Americans carry the surname Angle. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 56,097 residents.
How common is Angle?
Angle ranks #6,163 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.78 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,328 people with the surname Angle. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,110), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.78 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.78 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Angle.
Has Angle become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Angle went from 5,693 recorded bearers to 5,328. That is a decrease of 365 (-6.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,035 to #6,163.
What does the Census say about the background of Angle?
Among Census respondents with the surname Angle, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Angle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.9% (4,736 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Angle appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.9%), Hispanic (4.6%), Two or More Races (3.3%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Angle (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Angle mean?
An English topographic surname for someone who lived in a corner or remote area of a village or town. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Angle (1.78 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Angle?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Angle? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.