Gender: Feminine
Origin: Greek/Italian
Eng (AN-je-LEE-nah); It (ahn-jay-LEE-nah)
The name is often listed as an Italian diminutive form of Angela, but seems to have a much longer history as an independent given name stretching all the way back to the Byzantine Empire.
The name seems to have been used as a feminine form of Angelos for the female offspring of the Angelos family. The Angelos family was the ruling dynasty of the Byzantine Empire during the 12th-century, it is believed that their name was either derived from the traditional Angelos or may have been from a toponym (Agel), a district near Amida.
As a result, the name became fairly common among South Eastern European royalty of the Middle Ages, one of whom, St. Angelina of Serbia (15th-century, CE), is revered as a saint in the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Theodora Angelina, Duchess of Austria (d.1246), the wife of Leopold VI of Austria, was from the Angelos family. As a result, the name has had some usage in German-speaking countries, but really exploded in popularity during the last decade, perhaps more to due to the fame of actress, Angelina Jolie (b.1975).
Angelina also seems to have been a common name in 18th and 19th-century America. It was borne by Angelina Eberly (1798-1860) a famous innkeeper during the Texas Archives War. In addition, it was borne by early suffragette and abolitionist activist, Angelina Grimké (1805-1879) as well as Angelina Weld Grimké, (1880-1958), a poet and writer.
The name is currently experiencing a sharp rise in popularity. It is the 59th most popular female name in Austria, (2010) and her rankings in other countries are as follows:
- # 84 (Germany, 2011)
- # 86 (Australia, 2010)
- # 93 (United States, 2010)
- # 107 (France, 2009)
- # 224 (Netherlands, 2010)
Other forms of the name include:
- Angjelina (Albanian)
- Angelina Ангелина Անգելինա (Armenian/Bulgarian/Croatian/Dutch/English/German/Greek/Hungarian/Italian/Macedonian/Polish/Russian/Serbian/Slovene/Spanish)
- Angéline (French)
- Andżelina (Polish)
