De Angelis
An Italian surname meaning “of the angels,” originally a devotional or family-name form linked to the given name Angelo.
The #4,546 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 39,628 Americans shares it.
Etymology
De Angelis is an Italian surname built from de, meaning “of” or “from,” and angeli, the plural of angelo, “angel.” In origin it is a devotional or identifying phrase, literally “of the angels,” and in many cases it likely points to a family connection with the given name Angelo rather than a direct reference to celestial beings. Such surnames often arose from a house name, a byname, or a way of identifying someone as belonging to a family centered on a saintly or religious personal name.
History
The surname is found in Italy and among Italian diaspora communities, where it is usually written as two words in Italian but may appear as DeAngelis or De Angelis in English-language records. It became more visible outside Italy through migration in the 19th and 20th centuries, especially to North America and South America. Because Italian surnames are highly regional, the name may occur in several parts of the peninsula rather than being tied to one single locality.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In Italian records, the spacing in surnames like De Angelis can vary a lot, so the same family may appear as De Angelis, DeAngelis, or even Di Angelis in different documents.