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You may have noticed that I have a few references to Hebrew in this fic. I did that on purpose. While the Supernatural canon is heavily based on Christian theology (which I don’t personally share), some of Christian theology is based heavily on Jewish theology, which has Hebrew as one of its cornerstones. SPN canon has already established that the angels were created before humans, and that they were tasked by God to love humanity. This is pretty close to Jewish theology, and it’s here where Jewish and Christian theology part ways (Lucifer doesn’t exist in Jewish theology).
But given this, the angels would most certainly know Hebrew, and it would make sense that those whose names are in Hebrew would have significant meanings.
It’s my headcanon (and Northern Sparrow’s, I believe) that Castiel was originally Cassiel, one of the original seven archangels. However, even that name isn’t the original, as Cassiel is Latin, not Hebrew. The original Hebrew name is Kaftziel (קפציאל) and is related to the Hebrew verb for "to jump” or "to appear suddenly" (לקפוץ) or moving quickly from one space-time to another.
ANGELIC NAMES: While not all angel names end in –iel, many do, and I just wanted to explain why, and its importance. The –iel is a double suffix in Hebrew (“i” is a possessive meaning “my” and El is another name for God), translating to “God is my…” Technically, by shortening an angel’s name to leave off even just the “el,” it also means leaving off the name of God. One could make the argument that Cas is a Castiel without God.
AKZARIEL: In Hebrew, akzari (אכזרי) means cruel or brutal. It fit so well in the angelic name formula that I couldn’t resist using it, creating a not-quite-linguistically-correct “Cruelty of God” name that the director of an angelic “corrections” program would be proud of.
CASSIEL: Latin for Kaftziel.
CASTIEL: (קסטיאל) This name appears to fit the angelic name formula, but it doesn’t actually mean anything in Hebrew. It is, however, the name of a furniture store in Tel Aviv, Israel.
KAFTZIEL: (קפציאל) Literally, “God is my speed.” One of the original seven archangels, Kaftziel was notable for watching humanity from afar, never interfering in human affairs.
I loved the idea that something, perhaps that special something that makes Castiel who he is, is partly responsible for his “demotion” and subsequent name change. And perhaps it’s that same something that causes him to change his mind and go from indifferent observer to actively involved (and rebelling against a Heaven-sans-God).
MICHAEL: (מיכאל) Literally, “who is like God.” Yes, my characterization is based on someone, and no, I can’t go into more detail than that. Sorry to be so vague.
SHOMER: Literally, “guard.” It’s used in many different ways, including being the legal guardian for another.