Angel f, formerly also m
English: originally a male name, as in the case of Angel Clare, the chief male character in Thomas Hardy's novel Tess of the D'Urbevilles (1891), and derived from the Church Latin name Angelus, from Greek angelos. This meant ‘messenger’ in classical Greek, but in New Testament Greek it had the specialized meaning ‘messenger of God’, i.e. an angel. It is now completely out of fashion as a male name in English, but is being increasingly bestowed as a female name, especially among American Blacks. It is no doubt influenced strongly by the use of the English vocabulary word angel as an affectionate term of address for a good (or pretty) little girl.
First names dictionary. 2012.