UK girl's name
Aniela
A feminine form of the Polish name meaning "gracious, merciful".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Aniela is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Aniela popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #1894, with 15 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2015, with 36 births.
This profile covers 418 England and Wales registrations across 26 recorded years from 1997 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 42% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 435 living people in the UK are called Aniela. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Aniela ranked #1894 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 15 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2015, when 36 girls were registered as Aniela.
- • Aniela ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #790 in 2024.
- • About 435 living people in the UK are estimated to have Aniela as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#1894
2024
Births in 2024
15
Latest year
Peak year
2015
36 births
Estimated living
435
2026
Meaning
What does Aniela mean?
The name Aniela is a Polish feminine form of the Latin name Angelus, which means "angel" or "messenger of God". It is derived from the Greek word "angelos," which also translates to "messenger." The name has its roots in ancient Greek and Roman cultures, where angels were seen as divine beings who served as intermediaries between God and humans.
In Poland, the name Aniela became popular during the Middle Ages, particularly after the country's conversion to Christianity in the 10th century. It was often given to girls born on or around the feast day of St. Aniela Merici, the founder of the Ursuline Order of nuns, who lived in the 16th century.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Aniela can be found in the 14th-century Polish chronicle "Roczniki Królów Polskich" (Annals of the Polish Kings), where it mentions a woman named Aniela who was a member of the Polish nobility.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Aniela. One of the most famous was Aniela Krzyżanowska (1842-1886), a Polish writer and activist who played a significant role in the women's rights movement in the 19th century. Another prominent Aniela was Aniela Tułodziecki (1859-1936), a Polish educator and activist who established the first secular school for girls in Warsaw.
In the arts, Aniela Pająkówna (1825-1901) was a renowned Polish actress who performed in numerous plays and operas during the 19th century. In the field of science, Aniela Kozłowska (1892-1962) was a Polish physicist and chemist who made significant contributions to the study of radioactivity.
One of the most recent notable figures with the name Aniela was Aniela Pankiewicz (1908-1979), a Polish-born Canadian artist known for her paintings and illustrations depicting scenes from rural life in Poland.
While the name Aniela has its roots in ancient Greek and Roman cultures, it has been primarily associated with Polish culture and history, where it has been a popular choice for centuries, reflecting the country's deep-rooted Christian traditions and reverence for angelic beings.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Aniela over time
The chart below shows babies named Aniela registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1997 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Aniela, the clearest high point is 2015. The latest England and Wales figure is 15 births in 2024, compared with 36 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Aniela by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Aniela was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #1733 | 88 | 5 |
| 2010s | #1478 | 225 | 10 |
| 2000s | #2184 | 96 | 9 |
| 1990s | #3116 | 9 | 2 |
Geography
Where Aniela is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Aniela. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Aniela ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #790 in 2024.
Across the UK
Aniela in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#790 in 2024
6 years of NRS records, 19 total registered
Notable bearers
Famous people named Aniela
-
Aniela Potulicka
artist
1861-1932
Related
Names similar to Aniela
- Amelia 94,830
- Ava 54,556
- Amy 52,495
- Alice 46,815
- Abigail 45,658
- Amber 31,922
- Anna 27,802
- Alexandra 19,455
- Amelie 18,051
- Abbie 15,971
- Aimee 15,158
- Annabelle 15,120
FAQ
Aniela: questions and answers
How popular is the name Aniela in the UK right now?
In 2024, Aniela was ranked #1894 for girls in England and Wales, with 15 births registered.
When was Aniela most popular?
The peak year on record was 2015, with 36 babies registered as Aniela in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Aniela?
A feminine form of the Polish name meaning "gracious, merciful".
How many people are called Aniela in the UK?
A total of 418 babies have been registered as Aniela across the 26 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 19 more in Scotland.
Where is Aniela most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Aniela ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #790 in 2024. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.