How popular is the baby name Angel in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Angel.

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Popularity of the baby name Angel


Posts that mention the name Angel

Popular baby names in South Africa, 2015

Flag of South Africa
Flag of South Africa

According to data released last October by Statistics South Africa, the most popular baby names in the country in 2015 were Precious and Junior.

Here are South Africa’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2015:

Girl names

  1. Precious, 6,598 baby girls
  2. Princess, 4,762
  3. Angel, 4,684
  4. Amahle, 3,998
  5. Minenhle, 3,347
  6. Thandolwethu, 3,204
  7. Melokuhle, 2,997
  8. Blessing, 2,919
  9. Faith, 2,906
  10. Lesedi, 2,851

Boy names

  1. Junior, 10,743 baby boys
  2. Blessing, 5,819
  3. Gift, 4,898
  4. Bandile, 4,078
  5. Prince, 3,721
  6. Siyabonga, 3,713
  7. Melokuhle, 3,513
  8. Lethabo, 3,280
  9. Banele, 2,864
  10. Samkelo, 2,748

The new #1 girl name, Precious, is also new to the top 10. (It replaced former #1 Iminathi, which dropped out of the top 10.) The top boy name is still the placeholder “Junior.”

Most of the names above are brand new to the rankings, which is a bit suspicious. But I’m inclined to think that these 2015 rankings are more trustworthy than the 2014 rankings, as the raw numbers are much higher this time around.

At least five of the names above are from the isiZulu language. Here’s what they mean:

  • Amahle means “the beautiful ones”
  • Bandile means “they have extended in number”
  • Minenhle means “good/lovely day”
  • Siyabonga means “we are grateful”
  • Thandolwethu means “our love”

Sources: Most popular baby names in South Africa revealed, Top 10 most popular baby names for boys and girls in South Africa, Naming in Zulu – African Studies Center (Penn)

Image: Adapted from Flag of South Africa (public domain)

Popular baby names in Arizona, 2016

Flag of Arizona
Flag of Arizona

According to provisional data released yesterday by the Arizona Department of Health Services, the most popular baby names in the state in 2016 were Emma and Liam.

Here are Arizona’s projected top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2016:

Girl names

  1. Emma, 419 baby girls
  2. Sophia, 411
  3. Olivia, 385
  4. Mia, 382
  5. Isabella, 345
  6. Ava, 267
  7. Emily, 267
  8. Sofia, 263
  9. Abigail, 242
  10. Charlotte, 234

Boy names

  1. Liam, 404 baby boys
  2. Noah, 394
  3. Daniel, 322
  4. Sebastian, 309
  5. Alexander, 298
  6. Michael, 295
  7. Julian, 285
  8. Oliver, 268
  9. Benjamin, 267
  10. Mason, 267

In the girls’ top 10, Charlotte replaced Victoria.

In the boys’ top 10, Oliver, Benjamin and Mason replaced Ethan, Jacob, and Aiden.

The Arizona Daily Sun also notes that…

A decade ago, before Arizona approved one of the harshest laws in the nation aimed at those here illegally, names like Angel, Jose, Jesus and Juan were among the Top 20. In fact in 2005 Jose was the top name for all boys born in the state.

Now Angel has dropped to 26, Jose to 34, Jesus to 37 and Juan to 78.

The law referred to here is the controversial Arizona Senate Bill 1070.

In 2015 the top baby names in Arizona were Sophia and Noah.

Finalized 2016 data for Arizona will be available in February of 2017.

Sources: Liam, Emma top Arizona baby names for 2016, Top Baby Names in Arizona 2016

Image: Adapted from Flag of Arizona (public domain)

Pop culture baby name game, 2016

Britney Spears album

It’s December 2 — the doubly momentous day on which Britney Spears celebrates her birthday and on which we start another round of the annual Pop Culture Baby Name Game.

Which baby names will see significant movement on the charts in 2016 thanks to popular culture (TV, movies, music, sports, politics, products, current events, video games, etc.)? Below are some possibilities. Leave a comment with the names you’d add — and don’t forget to mention the pop culture influence.

  • Addison – Chicago Cubs winning season
  • Adonis – movie Creed (suggested by Becca)
  • Ajax – movie Deadpool (suggested by Elizabeth)
  • Alessia – singer Alessia Cara (suggested by Ebony)
  • Ali – death of Muhammad Ali
  • Angel (f) – movie Deadpool (suggested by Elizabeth)
  • Angel Dust – movie Deadpool (suggested by Elizabeth)
  • Aroldis – Chicago Cubs winning season/World Series
  • Auli’i – movie Moana
  • Barron – son of president-elect Donald Trump (suggested by Andrea)
  • Bebe – singer Bleta “Bebe” Rexha (suggested by Ebony)
  • Bernie – presidential candidate Bernie Sanders (suggested by elbowin)
  • Bison – new national mammal & Dakota Access pipeline protests
  • Boomer – son of Michael Phelps
  • Bowie – musician David Bowie
  • Broncs – son of Mackenzie McKee (late suggestion by me)
  • Camila – singer Camila Cabello (suggested by Ebony)
  • Canaan – son of Oprah Winfrey
  • Chyna – pro-wrestler Chyna (late suggestion by me)
  • Clark – Chicago Cubs winning season
  • Cohen – death of Leonard Cohen
  • Creed – movie Creed (suggested by Julie and Becca)
  • Cub – Chicago Cubs winning season
  • Cubby – Chicago Cubs winning season
  • Cyrus – TV miniseries Roots
  • Curiosity – Mars rover (suggested by elbowin)
  • Dak – NFL player Rayne Dakota “Dak” Prescott (late suggestion by me)
  • Daya – singer Daya (suggested by Ebony)
  • Dexter – Chicago Cubs winning season/World Series
  • Dopinder – movie Deadpool (suggested by Elizabeth)
  • Doris – movie Hello, My Name Is Doris
  • Dory – movie Finding Dory (suggested by Randi)
  • Draymond – NBA player Draymond Green (late suggestion by me)
  • Dream – latest Kardashian baby (late suggestion by me)
  • Eleven – TV show Stranger Things (late suggestion by me)
  • Elle – singer Elle King (suggested by Ebony)
  • Emayatzy – TV miniseries Roots
  • E’myri – TV miniseries Roots
  • Esperanto – number of speakers (suggested by elbowin)
  • Francis – movie Deadpool (suggested by Elizabeth)
  • Greyson – son of JWoww
  • Halsey – singer Halsey (suggested by Ebony)
  • Hamilton – musical Hamilton
  • Harriet – Harriet Tubman, chosen to appear on $20 bill
  • Hermine – Hurricane Hermine (late suggestion by me)
  • Hillary – presidential candidate Hillary Clinton
  • Ingwen – Tsai Ing-wen, president of Taiwan (suggested by elbowin)
  • Ivanka – daughter of president-elect Donald Trump (suggested by elbowin)
  • Jikan – death of Leonard Cohen (suggested by elbowin)
  • Jonbenet – anniversary of the death of JonBenet Ramsey
  • Juno – NASA space probe
  • Jupiter – NASA space probe
  • Lorca – death of Leonard Cohen (suggested by elbowin)
  • Luna – daughter of John Legend & Chrissy Teigen
  • Keanu – Key & Peele movie Keanu
  • Kehlani – musician Kehlani (late suggestion by me)
  • Kizzy – TV miniseries Roots
  • Kunta – TV miniseries Roots
  • Laremy – NFL player Laremy Tunsil (late suggestion by me)
  • Linmanuel – actor/playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda (late suggestion by me)
  • Lyanna – TV show Game of Thrones
  • Maga – Trump hashtag #MAGA (late suggestion by me)
  • Maisa – Brazilian child actress Maisa da Silva Andrade (late suggestion by me)
  • Malachi – TV miniseries Roots
  • Maui – movie Moana
  • MacGyver – TV show MacGyver (late suggestion by me)
  • Melania – wife of president-elect Donald Trump (suggested by elbowin)
  • Merrick – judge Merrick Garland, former Supreme Court nominee (late suggestion by me)
  • Miesha – UFC fighter Miesha Tate (late suggestion by me)
  • Moana – movie Moana
  • Monica – Puerto Rican Olympian Monica Puig (I’m curious about the rankings in Puerto Rico specifically; Monica fell out of the top 100 in PR after 2002.)
  • Mountain – daughter of actress Jena Malone
  • Moushumi – TV show The Voice (late suggestion by me)
  • Mowgli – movie The Jungle Book
  • Muhammad – death of Muhammad Ali
  • Murray – Chicago Cubs winning season/World Series
  • Ode – daughter of actress Jena Malone
  • Omran – Syrian boy Omran Daqneesh
  • Onyx – daughter of Alanis Morissette
  • Phiona – movie Queen of Katwe
  • Paisley – death of Prince
  • Prince – death of Prince (suggested by elbowin)
  • Queen – TV show Queen Sugar & movie Queen of Katwe
  • Regé-Jean – TV miniseries Roots
  • Rihanna – singer Rihanna (suggested by Ebony)
  • Rio – location of the 2016 Summer Olympics
  • Rykiel – death of Sonia Rykiel (suggested by elbowin)
  • Sanders – presidential candidate Bernie Sanders
  • Simone – gymnast Simone Biles & daughter of John Legend & Chrissy Teigen
  • Solace – daughter of Alanis Morissette
  • Sully – movie Sully
  • Teresa – canonization of Mother Teresa
  • Teyana – musician Teyana Taylor (late suggestion by me)
  • Tiffany – daughter of president-elect Donald Trump (suggested by elbowin)
  • Trump – president-elect Donald Trump
  • Tulip – movie Storks
  • Usain – runner Usain Bolt (late suggestion by me)
  • Valor – son of JWoww
  • Vanessa – movie Deadpool (suggested by Elizabeth)
  • Voltron – web TV show Voltron: Legendary Defender (late suggestion by me)
  • Wade – movie Deadpool (suggested by Elizabeth)
  • Wilder – death of Gene Wilder (suggested by m4yb3_daijirou)
  • Wilson – movie Deadpool (suggested by Elizabeth)
  • Wrigley – Chicago Cubs winning season
  • Zephyr – U.S. House of Rep. (NY) candidate Zephyr Teachout, who was endorsed by Bernie Sanders. (She was born in Washington state, where Zephyr is particularly popular.)
  • Zobrist – Chicago Cubs winning season/World Series

I’ll post the results next May, when the SSA releases the 2016 baby name data. If you don’t want to miss the results post, please subscribe!

Previous rounds of the Pop Culture Baby Name Game: 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011: #1 & #2, 2010.

Popular baby names in Spain, 2015

Flag of Spain
Flag of Spain

According to data from Spain’s Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (INE), the most popular baby names in Spain in 2015 were Lucia and Hugo.

Here are Spain’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2015:

Girl NamesBoy Names
1. Lucia, 5,229 baby girls
2. Maria, 4,516
3. Martina, 4,447
4. Paula, 3,854
5. Sofia, 3,525
6. Daniela, 3,392
7. Alba, 3,082
8. Julia, 3,006
9. Carla, 2,951
10. Sara, 2,936		1. Hugo, 5,162 baby boys
2. Daniel, 4,578
3. Pablo, 4,202
4. Martin, 4,078
5. Alejandro, 3,994
6. Adrian, 3,341
7. Alvaro, 3,244
8. David, 2,993
9. Lucas, 2,904
10. Mario, 2,825

Lucia has held the #1 spot since 2003, and Hugo since 2012.

In the girls’ top 10, Alba rose 3 spots, and Julia replaced Valeria.

In the boys’ top 10, Martin rose 4 spots, and Lucas replaced Diego.

In the top 100, Miguel and Jose rank 23rd and 38th, respectively, while the related compound names Miguel Angel and Jose Antonio rank 86th and 94th, respectively.

Other interesting names in the top 100 include…

  • Laia, 34th for girls. It’s a short form of Eulalia in Catalan. Laia ranks 3rd for girls in Catalonia specifically.
  • Leire and Leyre, 39th and 50th for girls. They refer to the Monastery of San Salvador of Leyre in Navarre. Leyre ranks 10th in Navarre specifically.
  • Nerea, 46th for girls. It’s based on the Basque word nere, meaning “my” or “mine” — kind of like a Basque version of Mia.
  • Triana, 38th for girls. Perhaps inspired by the Triana neighborhood of Seville…?
  • Iria, 69th for girls. It might be a form of Irene, based on the ancient Greek word for “peace.” The Marian apparitions of Fátima occurred at the Cova da Iria.
  • Biel, 71st for boys. It’s a short form of Gabriel in Catalan. Biel ranks 5th for boys in Catalonia specifically.
  • Ibai, 99th for boys. It’s the Basque word for “river.” It ranks 4th in both Navarre and the Basque Country.

Here are Spain’s 2014 rankings.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Spain (public domain)