Head to head · Boys' names
Andrew vs Angel
#73 vs #67 in 2025
Angel is a whisker ahead (#67 vs #73 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Angel is holding its place on the charts, Andrew is stepping back from its peak.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
The tape is even: Andrew and Angel each lead 3 measures of 6.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Andrew #28, Angel #755 — Andrew higher
- 1890s: Andrew #36, Angel #979 — Andrew higher
- 1900s: Andrew #40, Angel #997 — Andrew higher
- 1910s: Andrew #45, Angel #899 — Andrew higher
- 1920s: Andrew #55, Angel #618 — Andrew higher
- 1930s: Andrew #76, Angel #567 — Andrew higher
- 1940s: Andrew #81, Angel #550 — Andrew higher
- 1950s: Andrew #63, Angel #361 — Andrew higher
- 1960s: Andrew #41, Angel #279 — Andrew higher
- 1970s: Andrew #27, Angel #205 — Andrew higher
- 1980s: Andrew #12, Angel #170 — Andrew higher
- 1990s: Andrew #8, Angel #103 — Andrew higher
- 2000s: Andrew #8, Angel #44 — Andrew higher
- 2010s: Andrew #29, Angel #64 — Andrew higher
- 2020s: Andrew #63, Angel #66 — Andrew higher
Andrew stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Andrew | Angel |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #28 | #755 |
| 1890s | #36 | #979 |
| 1900s | #40 | #997 |
| 1910s | #45 | #899 |
| 1920s | #55 | #618 |
| 1930s | #76 | #567 |
| 1940s | #81 | #550 |
| 1950s | #63 | #361 |
| 1960s | #41 | #279 |
| 1970s | #27 | #205 |
| 1980s | #12 | #170 |
| 1990s | #8 | #103 |
| 2000s | #8 | #44 |
| 2010s | #29 | #64 |
| 2020s | #63 | #66 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Andrew
manly, brave
From the Greek andreios, manly or courageous, built on aner, a man, in the stem form andros. The same root gives English android and misandry, and it is one of the most productive words in Greek naming.
andreios → Andreas → Andrew
How it traveled
Andrew was the first of the disciples called, according to John's Gospel, and the traditions about him send him east and north — to Greece, where he is said to have been martyred on a diagonal cross, and to the Black Sea. That diagonal cross became the saltire, which is why it is on the flags of Scotland, of Russia's navy, and inside the Union Jack.
Angel
messenger
From Greek angelos, 'messenger', by way of Latin angelus. The religious sense — a divine messenger — grew out of that ordinary word.
angelos → angelus → Ángel → Angel
How it traveled
The Greek angelos meant simply a messenger, someone sent with news, before the translators of the Hebrew Bible into Greek used it for the winged messengers of God and fixed the sense we know now. Latin took it as angelus, and from there it passed into the Romance languages: Ángel in Spanish, Angelo in Italian, Ange in French, alongside Angelos in Greek and Angel in Bulgarian.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Andrew
AN-droo
Two syllables, stress on the first. The Italian Andrea is a man's name said an-DRAY-ah, which regularly confuses English speakers who read it as a woman's name; the two are the same name in different languages.
- Andy — The standard short form, warm and long established; fully unisex in American use and shared with Andrea.
- Drew — Taken from the back of the name rather than the front, which is unusual; it is now a standing given name of its own and reads as considerably more modern than Andy.
- Dre — A shorter clipping from the middle, current in American use and completely detached in sound from the full name.
Angel
AYN-jul
In Spanish the accented Ángel is AHN-hel, with stress on the first syllable and an h-like g. Families who use both languages often use both pronunciations for the same child.
- Angelito — Spanish diminutive, affectionate and family-level rather than formal.
- Ange — Clipped English short form; also a standalone given name in French.
- Angie — Informal; more often attached to Angela or Angelina, and used for girls more than boys.
- Lito — Heard in Spanish-speaking families as a shortening of Angelito.
Who has carried each name
Andrew
Andrew Carnegie (b. 1835) — Steel titan who gave away his fortune building 2,500 libraries
Andrew Garfield (b. 1983) — Spider-Man and Hacksaw Ridge star
Andrew Jackson (b. 1767) — The president on the $20 bill
Angel
No documented entry for Angel yet.
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Andrew if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsAndrew is stepping back from its peak
- a long American recordAndrew was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 40% for Angel
Choose Angel if you want…
- a name on the way upup 9 places on the charts in five years
- a newer arrivalAngel entered the US charts in 1888
- a name that feels very nowAngel is holding its place on the charts
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Andrew
Strengths
- It has been in continuous use in English for the better part of a thousand years and has never sounded dated.
- Andy and Drew are both fully established and belong to different generations, so a boy has real range.
- Every European language has a form of it, which makes it unusually portable.
To consider
- It reached the very top of the American list within living memory, so a man of a certain age will have shared classrooms with several.
- Andrew and Andrea are the same name in Italy and different names here, which causes confusion abroad.
- Nearly every child given this spelling is a boy; the girls in the record are few enough that no form will expect one.
Angel
Strengths
- Works unchanged in English and Spanish — one spelling, no translation needed, though the pronunciation shifts.
- The meaning is transparent to almost everyone, with no need to explain it.
- A long, unbroken record in American use rather than a recent arrival, and no sign of dropping away.
To consider
- Two live pronunciations, AYN-jul and AHN-hel, means some introductions will need a correction — and which one a stranger reaches for often depends on where you are.
- The word is also a common endearment in English, which can invite the obvious jokes at school and the obvious puns on greeting cards for life.
- This spelling goes overwhelmingly to boys in the United States, so a girl named Angel will meet paperwork and teachers that assume otherwise — worth knowing, not worth fearing.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Andrew
12%chance Andrew feels dated by 2040
Andrew has held the top-100 across 15 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
Angel
40%chance Angel feels dated by 2040
Angel sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Andrew and Angel in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Andrew and Angel?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
- Distinctly American names
- America's top 100 names right now
- Vowel names: soft starts from A to O
- all guides
Every list here names both Andrew and Angel — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Andrew or Angel — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Andrew or Angel?
- Angel, in 2025: Angel ranked #67 with 4,757 babies; Andrew ranked #73 with 4,497 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Andrew or Angel?
- Angel. Over the last five years Andrew moved down 21 places; Angel moved up 9 places.
- Which is the older name, Andrew or Angel?
- Andrew was already in use when US records began in 1880; Angel entered the US charts in 1888. On the American record, Andrew is the older name.
- How many people are named Andrew and Angel?
- About 1,138,000 people named Andrew are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 256,000 people named Angel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Andrews or Angels in the classroom?
- Andrew will almost certainly be the only one in school. Angel will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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