Angela

Angela has the grace of a name that was once everywhere and is now, quietly, itself again. From the Greek angelos, messenger, it entered English through Italian saints and reached its American peak in 1975, when it sat among the top ten girls' names in the country. Generations of Angelas followed—Bassett, Lansbury, Merkel, Davis—each stamping a different temperament onto three soft syllables. The name has gently drifted down the charts since, landing near 280, which gives it that welcome middle register: instantly familiar, newly uncommon. Warm, capable, vaguely cinematic, Angela still carries its wings lightly.