boy's name
Angus
ANG-gus
- Origin Scottish
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 18,264
Scotland
#39
2024 births
Angus is a boy's name of Scottish Gaelic origin meaning "one choice" or "one strength," from Aonghas. It ranks 39th in Scotland and belongs to a god of the Tuatha Dé Danann.
- Angus is a name of Scottish origin.
- Peaked in 2006, when 126 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 57,162 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Angus over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 155 |
| 1890s | 143 |
| 1900s | 128 |
| 1910s | 496 |
| 1920s | 660 |
| 1930s | 394 |
| 1940s | 405 |
| 1950s | 345 |
| 1960s | 283 |
| 1970s | 307 |
| 1980s | 360 |
| 1990s | 754 |
| 2000s | 1,042 |
| 2010s | 856 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 423 |
What Angus means
Angus means one choice, or one strength. The first element is the number one and the second is variously read as choice or vigor, so the name describes something singular and unmatched rather than merely strong.
Where Angus comes from
Angus anglicizes the Scottish Gaelic Aonghas and the Irish Aonghus, from aon, one, and gus, generally read as force, vigor or choice. Its earliest bearer is Óengus, or Aengus, of the Tuatha Dé Danann, associated with love, youth and poetic inspiration, who lives at the Brú na Bóinne passage tomb at Newgrange and whose story of dreaming a woman he has never met and searching until he finds her is one of the best-known in Irish literature. History gives Óengus mac Fergusa, an eighth-century king of the Picts, and Saint Óengus the Culdee. The Scottish county of Angus takes its name from an early ruler of the same name, and Aberdeen Angus cattle from the county. In Scotland the name is native; in England and North America it reads as emphatically Scottish, which is most of its appeal.
Angus in use
Angus ranks 39th in Scotland with 106 births in 2024 and is stable in our data, with a peak in 2006. It has a genuine if smaller life south of the border at 325th in England and Wales, but almost none in Ireland or the United States, where it sits at 2,378th. Our records carry it from 1880.
How popular is Angus?
In 2025, Angus was given to 58 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Angus is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Angus
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Angus also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Angus over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Angus
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Angus in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Scots
- Innes
Sibling names for Angus
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Angus — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Angus
What does the name Angus mean?
Angus means "one choice" or "one strength," from aon, one, and gus, vigor or choice.
Who was Aengus in Irish mythology?
A god of the Tuatha Dé Danann associated with love and youth, said to live at Newgrange.
Is Angus Scottish or Irish?
Both. Aonghas is the Scottish Gaelic form and Aonghus the Irish; the name is shared.
Is Angus related to the cattle breed?
By way of the Scottish county, which is named for an early ruler called Angus.
How popular is the name Angus?
In 2025, Angus was given to 58 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Is Angus a girl's or a boy's name?
Angus is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Angus?
Angus has 2 syllables.
When was Angus most popular?
Angus peaked in 2006, when 126 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Angus?
Angus is usually shortened to Gus.
Is Angus a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Angus currently ranks #39 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.