Angelica
Angelica was the 708th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 398 babies. Its best year was 1996, when it ranked 97th with 3,404 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 285 places. More babies were named Angelica in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Meaning angelic (Latin) · Latin, Italian
Say it an-JEL-ih-kuh /ænˈdʒɛlɪkə/
- Rank in 2025
- #708 girls, down 136 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 398girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19963,404 babies
- Total since 1880
- 93,538babies recorded
What does the name Angelica mean?
Angelica comes from Latin angelica, angelic, the feminine of angelicus, ultimately from Greek angelos, messenger. DMNES records it as a medieval German name with that meaning. Wiktionary says English took it from Church Italian Angelica, which was also the name of the heroine of Ariosto's epic Orlando Furioso (1516). Angelica is also the name of a herb, which Wiktionary says was named for its supposed magical properties.
angelica (Latin, “angelic”)ἄγγελος (Ancient Greek, “messenger, angel”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Angela, Angelika, Angelique, Angie.
See also: Greek names.
Sources for this meaning
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Angelica', DMNES (Durham University)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Angelica' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
Nicknames for Angelica
The usual nicknames for Angelica are Angie. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Angelica in the last five years, 91 were named Angie, against 37 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angie · also for Angela, Angelina, Angeline | Traditional | #705 | 2,085 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Angelicas go by each one.
Angelica popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 321 since 1970.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #708 | 398 |
| 2020 | #572 | 511 |
| 2010 | #346 | 932 |
| 2000 | #138 | 2,395 |
| 1990 | #119 | 2,717 |
| 1980 | #184 | 1,455 |
| 1970 | #400 | 591 |
| 1960 | #947 | 127 |
| 1950 | #1,123 | 67 |
| 1940 | #1,170 | 39 |
| 1930 | #1,161 | 41 |
| 1920 | #1,709 | 24 |
| 1910 | #1,423 | 11 |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Angelica, counting every spelling?
Angelica is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #677 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #708 for Angelica on its own. Together these spellings went to 420 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angelica | 398 | #708 | 2,289 |
| Angelika | 14 | #7,513 | 87 |
| Anjelica | 8 | #11,019 | 53 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Angelica?
398 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Angelica (0.11 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Angelica born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 21 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Angelica.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Angelica?
About 89,800 people born in the US named Angelica are alive today, with a median age of 32; half are between 24 and 40. That makes Angelica mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Angelica by state
How common Angelica was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Nevada (2.5×), Arizona (2.0×), Florida (1.8×), Texas (1.7×), California (1.5×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Louisiana, South Carolina, Iowa.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Angelica: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Angelica, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Angelica · Sibling names for Angelica
Questions about the name Angelica
What does Angelica mean?
Angelica means “angelic (Latin)” (Latin, Italian origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Angelica?
Angelica was the 708th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 398 babies. Its best year was 1996, when it ranked 97th with 3,404 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 285 places. More babies were named Angelica in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Is Angelica a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Angelica in the US.
Where is Angelica most popular?
In 2021–2025, Angelica was most common in New Mexico (0.78 per 1,000 girls), followed by Nevada and Arizona.