Angus is an English language masculine given name. It is an Anglicised form of the Irish and Scottish Gaelic name Aonghas (also spelt Aonghus), which is composed of Celtic elements meaning "one" and "choice". Short forms of the name include Gus, which may be lengthened to Gussie, and Irish Naos. Angie ( ANG-ghee; Scottish Gaelic: Angaidh) is a common pet form of the name. The feminine form of Angus is Angusina.
The earliest form of the given name Angus, and its cognates, occurs in Adomnán's Vita Columbae (English: "Life of Columba") as Oinogusius, Oinogussius. This name likely refers to a Pictish king whose name is recorded variously as Onnust, Hungus.
According to historian Alex Woolf, the early Gaelic form of the name, Oengus, was borrowed from the Pictish Onuist, which appears in Brythonic as Ungust. Woolf noted that these names are all derived from the Celtic *Oinogustos. Linguist John Kneen derived this name from two Celtic elements the following way: *Oino-gustos, meaning "one-choice". Woolf also stated that between about AD 350 and AD 660, the Insular Celtic dialects underwent changes which included the loss of the final syllables and unstressed vowels, which affected *Oinogustos thus: *Oinogustos.
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People with the given name
Angus
Angus Abbey (1925–2025), Australian rules football player
Angus Abranson, British game designer
Angus Allan (1936–2007), British comic strip writer and magazine editor
Angus B. Rothwell (1905–1981), Superintendent of Public Instruction of Wisconsin
Angus Baker (1849–1924), navigator, ship's captain and political figure in Quebec
Angus Barnett (born 1963), English actor
Angus Beith (born 1996), Scottish footballer
Angus Bernard MacEachern (1759–1835), Scottish Bishop in the Roman Catholic Church
Angus Bethune (disambiguation), several people
Angus Brayshaw (born 1996), Australian rules football player
Angus Black (1925–2018), Scottish international rugby union player
Angus Bly (born 2007), American-born Mountain biker and cross country runner
Angus M. Bowie (born 1949), British classicist
Angus Brandt (born 1989), Australian professional basketball player
Angus Brayshaw (born 1996), Australian rules footballer
Angus Buchanan (disambiguation), several people
Aonghas
Aonghas mac Somhairle, (fl. 13th century), Scottish nobleman, son of Somerled
Aonghas MacNeacail (born 1942), Scottish Gaelic writer
Aonghas Mór, (fl. 13th century), Scottish nobleman, son of Domhnall mac Raghnaill
Aonghas Óg of Islay, (fl. 14th century), Scottish nobleman, son of Aonghas Mór
Aonghas Óg (died 1490), Scottish nobleman, son of John of Islay, Earl of Ross
Aonghus
Aonghus Fionn Ó Dálaigh (fl. 1520–1570), Irish poet
Aonghus Óg of Islay (died 1314×1318/c.1330), Scottish magnate
Aonghus McAnally (born 1955), Irish broadcaster
Aonghus Óg McAnally (born 1980), Irish actor
Aonghus Mór (died c. 1293), Scottish magnate
Aonghus Ruadh Ó Dálaigh (died 1350), Irish poet
Aengus
Aengus Finnan (born 1972), Canadian folk musician
Aengus Finucane (1932–2009), Roman Catholic missionary of the Spiritan Fathers order
Aengus Fanning (1942–2012), Irish journalist and former editor of farming of the Irish Independent
Aengus Mac Grianna (born 1964), newsreader
Aengus Ó Snodaigh (born 1964), Irish Sinn Féin politician
Aenghus Ua Flainn (died 1036), Abbot of Clonfert
Óengus
Óengus I (died 761), king of the Picts
Óengus of Tallaght (died 824), Irish bishop, reformer and writer
Óengus II (died 834), king of the Picts
Óengus mac Óengusa (died 930), Irish poet
Óengus of Moray (died 1130), last King of Moray
Óengus mac Nad Froích (died 489), King of Munster
Fictional characters
Aengus, figure of Irish mythology
Angus "Mac" MacGyver, title character from the ABC TV series MacGyver
Angus Tully, from the 2023 film The Holdovers
Angus, a character on Oobi
Angus "Pothole" McDuck, a Disney character who is Scrooge McDuck's uncle
Angus, a Thane in Shakespeare's Macbeth
Óengus Olmucaid, legendary High King of Ireland
Óengus Ollom, legendary High King of Ireland
Óengus Tuirmech Temrach, legendary High King of Ireland