cheeseat3am asked:
neil, is there any particular reason why most angels' names end with -ael or -iel? with the exceptions of metatron, sandalphon, and aziraphale of course.
Angelic names tend to discuss the relationship of the angel to god, or be a description of an aspect of god. The “El” at the end of angelic names means “God” (or more precisely “god” because it can refer to lots of different gods).
Iirc Michael means “who is like God?”, Gabriel means “my strength comes from God”, Uriel means “light of God”, Saraqael means “beloved by God” and Muriel means “smells like God”.