Head to head · Girls' names
Angelica vs Averie
#707 vs #701 in 2025 · both stepping back from its peak
Averie is a whisker ahead (#701 vs #707 in 2025) and both are stepping back from its peak. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
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
On the charts, Angelica leads 3 measures of 6; Averie leads 2.
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
- 1890s: Angelica #1432, Averie — — Angelica higher
- 1900s: Angelica #1902, Averie — — Angelica higher
- 1910s: Angelica #1617, Averie — — Angelica higher
- 1920s: Angelica #1509, Averie — — Angelica higher
- 1930s: Angelica #1286, Averie — — Angelica higher
- 1940s: Angelica #1353, Averie — — Angelica higher
- 1950s: Angelica #1111, Averie — — Angelica higher
- 1960s: Angelica #688, Averie — — Angelica higher
- 1970s: Angelica #270, Averie — — Angelica higher
- 1980s: Angelica #156, Averie #9294 — Angelica higher
- 1990s: Angelica #107, Averie #3638 — Angelica higher
- 2000s: Angelica #193, Averie #1108 — Angelica higher
- 2010s: Angelica #453, Averie #444 — Averie higher
- 2020s: Angelica #632, Averie #558 — Averie higher
Angelica stood higher in 12 of 14 decades; Averie has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Angelica | Averie |
|---|---|---|
| 1890s | #1432 | — |
| 1900s | #1902 | — |
| 1910s | #1617 | — |
| 1920s | #1509 | — |
| 1930s | #1286 | — |
| 1940s | #1353 | — |
| 1950s | #1111 | — |
| 1960s | #688 | — |
| 1970s | #270 | — |
| 1980s | #156 | #9294 |
| 1990s | #107 | #3638 |
| 2000s | #193 | #1108 |
| 2010s | #453 | #444 |
| 2020s | #632 | #558 |
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
Angelica
angelic, of the angels
From Latin angelicus, itself from Greek angelikos and angelos, "messenger" — the word that became "angel."
angelos (Greek) → angelicus (Latin) → Angelica (Italian) → Angelica
How it traveled
The root is Greek angelos, "messenger," which the Greek translators of the Hebrew Bible used for the messengers of God and which passed into Latin as angelus. From it came the adjective angelicus, "angelic," and its feminine form angelica, which medieval Europe used both as a woman's name and as the name of a tall umbelliferous plant, Angelica archangelica, grown for medicine and later candied for cakes.
Averie
From a medieval surname, itself from a Germanic name meaning roughly "elf power"
Avery is a medieval English surname taken from Norman French pronunciations of Germanic personal names. The main candidate is Alberic — alb, "elf", plus ric, "power, ruler" — while some name scholars trace the same surname to Norman forms of Alfred, "elf counsel". Both roads begin with that same old element for "elf".
Alberich → Alberic → Avery → Averie
How it traveled
The Germanic name Alberich traveled into France with the Frankish nobility, was smoothed by Norman French speakers into forms like Alveredus and Avery, and crossed to England after 1066 as a surname. English surnames were still moving freely into first-name use in the American colonies, and Avery followed that path, given to boys and girls alike.
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
Angelica
an-JEL-ih-kuh
Spanish and Portuguese speakers say an-HEH-lee-kah, with the j-sound replaced by a breathy h and the stress moved to the second syllable. Both are correct for their language; a family that uses both will want to decide early which one strangers get.
- Angie — The most widespread short form in English, shared with Angela and Angelina; also given on its own as a full name.
- Angel — Informal, and used for boys and girls alike as an independent given name in English and Spanish-speaking families.
- Ange — Informal, mostly within families and among close friends; pronounced to rhyme with "strange."
- Lica — Informal, chiefly in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking households, clipped from the end rather than the front.
Averie
AY-vuh-ree
Identical to Avery. Many speakers compress it to two syllables, AYV-ree, in ordinary conversation; both are standard and no one will correct either.
- Ave — Said AY-vee; the most common informal clip within families.
- Avie — Informal, and the spelling that matches the parent name's ending.
- Ava — Used informally by some families, though it stands fully on its own as a given name.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Angelica if you want…
- a name with more sound in itAngelica runs 4 syllables, Averie 3
- a name that feels very nowAngelica is stepping back from its peak
Choose Averie if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsAverie is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesAverie is 3 syllables to Angelica's 4
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 40% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 66% for Angelica
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
Angelica
Strengths
- Reads and works in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and German with only an accent mark changing — useful in a bilingual family.
- The meaning is not in dispute: Latin angelicus, "angelic." No competing theories to explain.
- Established short forms already exist, Angie above all, so the child inherits options rather than inventing them.
To consider
- The English and Spanish pronunciations differ sharply — an-JEL-ih-kuh against an-HEH-lee-kah — and Angelica will be asked to choose, or to correct people, fairly often.
- It sits close to Angela, Angelina and Angelique, and gets confused with all three. The spelling Anjelica also exists, so expect to spell it out.
- For people who watched cartoons in the 1990s, the name still calls up Angelica Pickles from Rugrats. That association fades with each cohort, but it is real for adults now in their thirties.
Averie
Strengths
- Everyone already knows how to say it — the sound is Avery, which needs no explanation anywhere in the English-speaking world.
- Sits on a documented line running back to Norman French and, before that, Germanic Alberich.
- Rare enough day to day that a child is unlikely to share it with a classmate, while never sounding unfamiliar.
To consider
- Avery is the default spelling, so Averie will be corrected on forms, name tags and email addresses for life. Worth deciding now whether that trade is one you mind.
- The -ie ending places this version squarely in a recent wave, and its bearers are overwhelmingly children and young people. On an adult resume it reads as young for some years yet.
- The sound belongs to boys as well as girls through Avery, so anyone hearing the name before seeing it written will not know which to expect. The spelling does the signaling here, and only on paper.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Angelica
66%chance Angelica feels dated by 2040
Angelica is coming down from a big peak (#97 in 1996). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
Averie
40%chance Averie feels dated by 2040
Averie 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 Angelica and Averie 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 Angelica and Averie?
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 these names appear on
- Angel and heaven names
- Broadway names from the stage door
- Founding-era American names
- First Lady names through the centuries
- all guides
Where Angelica and Averie each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Angelica or Averie — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Angelica or Averie?
- Averie, in 2025: Averie ranked #701 with 404 babies; Angelica ranked #707 with 398 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Angelica or Averie?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Angelica moved down 135 places; Averie moved down 274 places.
- Which is the older name, Angelica or Averie?
- Angelica entered the US charts in 1892; Averie entered the US charts in 1985. On the American record, Angelica is the older name.
- How many people are named Angelica and Averie?
- About 90,500 people named Angelica are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 13,500 people named Averie are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Angelicas or Averies in the classroom?
- Angelica will almost certainly be the only one in school. Averie 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
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Angelica, Averie and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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