Agnes is a feminine given name derived from the Greek , meaning 'pure' or 'holy'. This was Latinised Hagnes, and passed to Italian as , to French as , to Agnes in English and other Germanic languages, to Portuguese as , and to Spanish as .
Inès and Inez are modern French and English (international) derivatives of the Iberian variant.
The name descends from the Proto-Indo-European *h₁yaǵ-, meaning 'to sacrifice; to worship', from which also the Vedic term yajña originates. The Sanskrit Agni (अग्नि, ’fire’) can perhaps also be seen as related. The name is mostly used in Greece and in countries that speak Germanic languages.
It was the name of a popular Christian saint, Agnes of Rome, a fact which encouraged its wide use. "Agnes" was the third-most popular name for women in the English-speaking world for more than 400 years.Rosenkrantz, Linda, and Satran, Pamela Redmond (2007). Baby Name Bible. St. Martin's Griffin. The traditional Welsh variant or diminutive is Nesta. Its medieval English pronunciation was Annis, and this and many other of its forms coincided with the equally popular name "Anna" (incl. Anne and Ann) which has a different origin, derived from the Hebrew 'Hannah" ('God favoured me') rather than from the Greek."Shakespeare's Wife". New York Times. 4-27-2008.
In Europe, the peak of Agnes' popularity came between 1900 and 1920. Agnieszka was the sixth-most popular name for girls born in Poland in 2007, having risen as high as third place in Sweden and Poland in 2006. It also ranked among the top one hundred names for baby girls born in Hungary in 2005.Behind the Name Neža, a Slovene shortened variant of the name, ranked among the top ten names for baby girls born in Slovenia in 2008. The French forms Inès and Ines both ranked among the top ten names for girls born in Brussels, Belgium in 2008. Agnes remained a widely used name throughout the 1960s in the United States, and last ranked among the top 1,000 names for American baby girls during that decade.
Name variants
Albanian: Agnesa, Anjeza Arabic: Inās, Anissa Breton: Oanez Bulgarian: Огняна (Ognyana) Catalan: Agneta, Agnès Croatian: Agneza, Ines, Janja Czech: Anežka Danish: Agnete, Agnethe, Agneta, Agnes Dutch: Inez, Nieske, Agnes English: Agnes, Anessa, Annice, Anissa, Inez Estonian: Agnes, Aune Fijian: Akanisi Finnish: Agneeta, Akneeta, Akneetta, Aknes, Aknietta, Aune, Iines French: Agnès, Ines, Inez German: Agnes, Agneta, Ines Greek: Αγνή (Agni) Hungarian: Ágnes Icelandic: Agnes, Agneta Indonesian: Agnez Irish: Aignéis Italian: Agnese, Ines Latvian: Agnese, Inese Lithuanian: Agnesė, Agneta, Inesa Macedonian: Агнеса (Agnesa), Агнија (Agnija) Māori: Akenehi Norwegian: Agnes, Agneta, Agnete, Agnethe Polish: Agnieszka, Jagna, Jagienka, Inka Portuguese: Ines, Inez Romanian: Agneza Russian: Agnessa (Агнесса), Agniya, Inessa (Инесса) Scottish Gaelic: Aigneas Serbian: Агнија (Agnija), Инес (Ines) Slovenian: Ines, Janja, Neža Spanish: Ines, Inez Swedish: Agnes, Agneta, Agnetha, Inez Tongan: Akanete Ukrainian: Агнія (Ahniya), Агнета (Ahneta), Агнеса (Ahnesa), Valencian: Agnés Vietnamese: Anê Welsh: Nesta, Annest
Notable people
Saints Agnes of Assisi (1197/98–1253), one of the first abbesses of the Order of Poor Ladies Agnes of Bohemia (1211–1282), Bohemian princess (also listed in next section) Agnes of Montepulciano (1263–1317), Dominican prioress Agnes of Rome (c. 291–c. 304), virgin martyr Agnes Tsao Kou Ying (1821–1856), Chinese martyr Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu (1910–1997), Albanian missionary
Noblewomen Agnes I, Abbess of Quedlinburg (c. 1090–1125), Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg Agnes of Aquitaine (disambiguation) Agnes of Antioch, (1154–c. 1184), Queen consort of Hungary Agnes of Austria (disambiguation) Agnes of Babenberg (c. 1108/13–1163), High Duchess of Poland and Duchess of Silesia Agnes of Bohemia (1211–1282), Bohemian princess and saint (see above) Agnes of Brandenburg (c. 1257–1304), Queen consort and regent of Denmark Agnes of Burgundy, Duchess of Aquitaine (died 1068) Agnes of Burgundy, Duchess of Bourbon (1407–1476) Agnes of Courtenay (c. 1136–c. 1184), Queen consort of Jerusalem Agnes of France, Byzantine Empress (1171–after 1207) Agnes of France, Duchess of Burgundy (c. 1260–1327) Agnes of Germany (1072–1143), Duchess consort of Swabia by her first marriage, Margravine consort of Austria by her second Agnes of Habsburg (c. 1257–1322), Duchess of Saxony Agnes Hammarskjöld (1866–1940), wife of Swedish noble Hjalmar Hammarskjöld Princess Agnes of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1804–1833) Agnes of Hohenstaufen (1176–1204), Countess Palatine of the Rhine Agnes Hotot (14th century), English noblewoman known for winning a lance fight Agnes of Merania (died 1201), Queen of France Agnes of the Palatinate (1201–1267), Duchess of Bavaria Agnes of Poitou (1025–1077), Holy Roman Empress and regent Agnes of Rochlitz (died 1195), Duchess of Merania and Countess of Andechs Agnes of Wrocław (1230/1236-1277), Silesian princess from the Piast dynasty Agnès Sorel (died 1450), mistress of Charles VII of France, and the first officially recognized mistress of a French king Agnes, daughter of Ottokar II (before 1260–after 1279), Bohemian noblewoman Mihrişah Valide Sultan or Sultana Mehr-î-Shah (ca. 1745–1805), spouse of Ottoman Sultan Mustafa III, mother of Caliph Sultan Selim III, believed to have the given name Agnès Agnes Howard, Duchess of Norfolk (c. 1477–1545) Agnes Macdonald, 1st Baroness Macdonald of Earnscliffe (1836–1920), second wife of Sir John A. Macdonald, the first Prime Minister of Canada Agnes Randolph (c. 1312–1369), Countess of Dunbar and March
Fictional characters Agnes Gru, a character in the Despicable Me franchise Agnes O'Connor, the "nosy neighbor" disguise of witch Agatha Harkness in WandaVision, to which Agatha reverts due to Wanda's mind control between WandaVision and Agatha All Along Agnès Oblige, a character in Bravely Default and Bravely Second: End Layer Agnes DeMille, a character in Wednesday Season 2 played by Evie Templeton
Others Agnes Agnes, stage name of Swedish singer Agnes Carlsson (born 1988)
A Agnes Aanonsen (born 1966), Norwegian luger Agnes Dean Abbatt (1847–1917), American painter Agnes Abuom, Kenyan Christian organizational worker Agnes Acibu, Ugandan politician Agnes Jones Adams (1858–1923), American civil rights activist Agnes Addison (1842–1903), New Zealand draper Agnes Adler (1865–1935), Danish pianist Agnes Aduako (born 1989), Ghanaian footballer Agnes Aggrey-Orleans, Ghanaian diplomat Agnes Akiror (born 1968), Ugandan politician Agnes Baldwin Alexander (1875–1971), American author Agnes Alexiusson (born 1996), Swedish boxer Agnes Alfred (c. 1890–1992), Canadian storyteller and noblewoman Agnes Allafi (born 1959), Chadian politician and sociologist Agnes Allen (1898–1958), English children's book author Agnes Allen (baseball) (1930–2012), American baseball pitcher Agnes Alpers (born 1961), German politician and educator Agnes Ameede (born 1970), Ugandan politician Agnes Atim Apea, Uganda social entrepreneur Agnes Arber (1879–1960), British plant morphologist and anatomist, historian, and philosopher Agnes Arellano (born 1949), Philippine sculptor Agnès Armengol (1852–1934), Spanish writer, pianist, composer Agnes Armstrong (born 1959), Cook Islands politician Agnes Arvidsson (1875–1962), Swedish pharmacist Agnes Asche (1891–1966), German socialist Agnes Ashford (fl. 15th century), Christian evangelist Agnes Barr Auchencloss (1886–1972), medical officer at H.M. Factory Gretna, on the University of Glasgow Roll of Honour Agnes Ayres (1898–1940), American silent film star
B Agnes Baden-Powell (1858–1945), British pioneer, founder of the Girl Guides movement Agnes Bakkevig (1910–1992), Norwegian politician Agnes Baliques (1641–1700), Roman Catholic religious leader Agnes Ballard (1877–1969), American architect and educator Agnes Baltsa (born 1944), Greek mezzo-soprano singer Agnes Barker (1907–2008), Australian potter and craftworker Agnes Jeruto Barsosio (born 1983), Kenyan long-distance runner Agnes Sime Baxter (1870–1917), Canadian mathematician Agnes Beaumont (c. 1652–1720), English religious autobiographer Agnes Beckwith (1861–1951), English swimmer Agnes Benidickson (1920–2007), Canadian college chancellor Agnes Bennett (1872–1960), New Zealand doctor and Chief Medical Officer in World War I Agnes Benítez (born 1986), Puerto Rican beauty pageant titleholder Agnes Berger (1916–2002), Hungarian-American mathematician and professor Agnes Bernard (1842–1932), Roman Catholic nun Agnes Bernauer (1410–1435), morganatic wife of Albert III, Duke of Bavaria Agnes Bernelle (1923–1999), Berlin actress and singer Agnes Binagwaho, Rwandan pediatrician and college chancellor Agnes Forbes Blackadder (1875–1964), Scottish medic Agnes Blackie (1897–1975), New Zealand professor Agnes Blannbekin (c. 1244–1315), Austrian Beguine and Christian mystic Agnes Block (1629–1704), Dutch art collector and horticulturalist Agnes Bluhm (1862–1943), German medical doctor and Goethe medal recipient Agnes Body (1866–1952), British headmistress Agnes Bolsø (born 1953), Norwegian sociologist Agnes Booth (1843–1910), Australian-American actress Agnes Börjesson (1827–1900), Swedish painter Agnes Borrowman (1881–1955), Scottish pharmaceutical chemist Agnes Boulton (1893–1968), British-American pulp magazine writer Agnes Rose Bouvier Nicholl (1842–1892), English artist Agnes Bowker (born c. 1541, death date unknown), English domestic servant and alleged mother of a cat Agnes Branting (1862–1930), Swedish textile artist and writer Agnes M. Brazal, Filipina theologian Agnes Baldwin Brett (1876–1955), American numismatist and archaeologist Agnes Broun (1732–1820), mother of Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns Agnes Brown (1866–1943), Scottish suffragist and writer Agnes Bruckner, American actress and model Agnes Bugge (born before 1417 and died after 1430), English brewer Agnes Bulmer (1775–1836), English poet Agnes Buntine (c. 1822–1896), Scottish pastoralist and bullocky Agnes Burns (1762–1834), sister of Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns Agnes Busby (1800–1889), New Zealand pioneer Agnes Bushell (born 1949), American writer and teacher
C Agnes Callard (born 1976), Hungarian professor Agnes Kane Callum (1925–2015), American genealogist Agnes Deans Cameron (1863–1912), Canadian educator, writer, journalist, lecturer, and adventurer Agnes Campbell (1637–1716), Scottish businesswoman Agnes Canta (1888–1964), Dutch painter Agnes Carlsson (born 1988), Swedish pop star, better known by the mononym Agnes Agnes Castle (1860–1922), Irish author Agnes Catlow (1806–1889), British writer Agnes Chan (born 1955), Hong Kong-based singer, television personality, professor, essayist, and novelist Agnes Chan Tsz-ching (born 1996), Hong Kong rugby union player Agnes Charbonneau, American politician and educator Agnes Chavez, Cuban-American artist, educator, and social entrepreneur Agnes Asangalisa Chigabatia (born 1956), Ghanaian politician Agnes Chow (born 1996), Hong Kong-based politician and democratic activist Agnes Muriel Clay (1878–1962), English historian and writer Agnes Morley Cleaveland (1874–1958), American writer and cattle rancher Agnes Mary Clerke (1842–1907), Irish astronomer and writer Agnes Bell Collier (1860–1930), British mathematician Agnes Kalaniho'okaha Cope (1924–2015), Hawaiian historian and spiritual healer Agnes Conway (1885–1950), British writer, historian, and archaeologist Agnes Cotton (1828–1899), English social reformer and philanthropist Agnes Marshall Cowan (1880–1940), Scottish physician Agnes Cowen, Cherokee politician Agnes Curran (1920–2005), British prison governor
D Agnes d'Harcourt (died 1291), French author Agnes Dahlström (born 1991), Swedish footballer