Angel

Ángel is a popular Spanish boy’s name, but Angel is also used among English-speakers for baby girls from time to time, making this one a unisex choice. In Spanish-speaking countries, however, Ángel is decidedly masculine. The word is ultimately derived from the Greek “angelos” (αγγελος) meaning “messenger” or “one who announces”. Eventually the word acquired its full meaning from the Bible (i.e., specifically a “messenger” of God). As a masculine given name, usage of the Latin Angelus dates back to the Middle Ages. As a female name, Angel is much more modern and common among native English speakers (although it’s used on baby girls in the Netherlands as well). Ángel remains an extremely popular boys name in Spain, Chile and Puerto Rico, and it ranks high in Catalonia as well (where it’s rendered as Àngel with the accent mark going the opposite direction). As a baby girl’s name, Angel does moderately well in both England and the United States, but in America Ángel is far more common for boys. In fact, among Hispanic-Americans, Ángel is the #1 choice for little niños (beating out José and Xavier). The masculine Ángel is most popular in the states with a high concentration of Hispanic-Americans – particularly in Nevada, California and Texas (but also New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, New York and New Jersey). Although Angel is also bestowed on baby girls in the United States, it’s 5x more common for boys.