Agnes (name)
Gender | Female |
---|---|
Language(s) | Greek |
Origin | |
Meaning | "pure, holy" |
Agnes is a given name derived from the Greek Ἁγνή Hagnḗ, meaning 'pure' or 'holy'. The name passed to Italian as Agnese, to French as Agnès, to Portuguese as Inês, and to Spanish as Inés. It is also written as Agness. The name is descended from the Proto-Indo-European *h₁n̥gʷnis, meaning 'fire,' from which is also the Vedic fire god Agni.
It was the name of a popular Christian saint, Agnes of Rome, which encouraged its wide use. Agnes was the third most popular name for women in the English speaking world for more than 400 years.[1] Its medieval pronunciation was Annis, and its usage and many of its forms coincided with the equally popular name Anna, related in medieval and Elizabethan times to Agnes, though Anne/Ann/Anna are derived from the Hebrew Hannah ('God favored me') rather than the Greek.[2] It remained a widely used name throughout the 1960s in the United States. It was last ranked among the top 1,000 names for American baby girls during that decade. The peak of its popularity was between 1900 and 1920, when it was among the top fifty given names for American girls. 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 was also ranked among the top one hundred names for baby girls born in Hungary in 2005.[3] Neža, a Slovene shortened variant of the name, was ranked among the top ten names for baby girls born in Slovenia in 2008. French forms Inès and Ines were both ranked among the top ten names for girls born in Brussels, Belgium in 2008.
Name variants[]
- Agnė (Lithuanian)
- Ágnes (Hungarian)
- (Finnish)
- Agnes (Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, German, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish)
- Agni (Sanskrit)
- Anežka (Czech)
- Agnès (French, Catalan)
- (Valencian)
- Агнеса (Agnesa) (Macedonian)
- Agnese (Italian, Latvian)
- Agnessa (Russian)
- Agneta (Catalan, Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish)
- Agnete (Danish, Norwegian)
- Agnetha (Scandinavian)
- Agnethe (Danish, Norwegian)
- Agneza (Croatian)
- अग्नि (Agní) (Sanskrit)
- Αγνή (Agni) (Greek)
- Agnieszka (Polish)
- Агнија (Agnija) (Macedonian)
- (Russian)
- Aignéis (Irish)
- Akanete (Tongan)
- Akanisi (Fijian)
- Akenehi (Māori)
- (Finnish)
- (Finnish)
- Aknes (Finnish)
- Aknietta (Finnish)
- Anê (Vietnamese)
- (English)
- Anissa (English)
- (Dutch)
- Anjeza (Albanian)
- (Welsh)
- Annice (English)
- Aune (Estonian, Finnish)
- (Finnish)
- إيناس () (Arabic)
- Ines (French, German, Italian)
- Inès (French)
- (Spanish)
- (Portuguese)
- (Lithuanian)
- Inessa (Инесса) (Russian)
- Inez (English)
- Jagna (Polish)
- Janja (Croatian, Slovenian)
- Nesta (Welsh)
- Nessie (Gaelic)
- (Slovenian)
- (Dutch)
- (Breton)
- Огняна () (Bulgarian)
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
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
- 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, 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
Others[]
- Agnes
- Agnes (singer) or Agnes Carlsson, Swedish pop singer most commonly referred to by her mononym
- Agnes Atim Apea, Uganda social entrepreneur
- Agnes Ayres, American silent film star
- Agnes Baden-Powell, founder of the Girl Guides movement
- Agnes Baltsa, Greek mezzo-soprano
- Agnes Bernauer, morganatic wife of Albert III, Duke of Bavaria
- Agnes Forbes Blackadder (1875 - 1964), Scottish medic
- Agnes Bruckner, American actress
- Agnes Buntine (c. 1822–1896), Scottish pastoralist and bullocky
- Agnes Busby (1800–1889), New Zealand pioneer
- Agnes Kane Callum (1925–2015), American genealogist
- Agnes Carlsson, Swedish pop star, better known by the mononym Agnes
- Agnes Chan, Hong Kong-based singer
- Agnes Chow, Hong Kong-based politician and democratic activist
- Agnes de Mille, American dancer and choreographer
- Agnes Franz (1794–1843), German writer
- Agnes Leonard Hill (1842–1917), American journalist, author, poet, newspaper founder/publisher, evangelist, social reformer
- Agnes Husband (1852 – 1929), Scottish politician: one of Dundee's first female councillors and suffragette
- Agnes Inglis, American anarchist
- Agnes Janich (born 1985), Polish visual artist
- Agnes Jongerius (born 1960), Dutch politician
- Agnes von Konow, Finnish animal rights advocate
- Agnes von Krusenstjerna, Swedish writer
- Agnes Macphail, first female senator in Canada
- Agnes Macready (1855 - 1935), Australian nurse and journalist
- Agnes Bernice Martin (1912–2004), Canadian-American abstract painter
- Agnes Mizere, Malawian TV personality
- Agnez Mo, Indonesian pop star
- Agnes Thomas Morris (1865–1949), American writer and clubwoman
- Agnes Moore, American entertainer who performs as Peppermint (drag queen)
- Agnes Moorehead, American actress
- Agnes Mukabaranga, Rwandan politician
- Agnes Nestor, American suffragette
- Agnes Ng Siew Heok, or simply Agnes Ng, Singaporean murder victim of the Toa Payoh child murders in 1981
- Agnes Nicholls, English soprano
- Agnes Oaks, Estonian ballerina
- Agnes Obel, Danish indie folk singer-songwriter and pianist
- Agnes Parsons, American screenwriter
- Agnes Pihlava, Polish musician
- Agnes Raeburn (1872–1955), Scottish artist
- Agnes Reisch, German ski jumper
- Agnes Smedley, American journalist and writer
- Agnes Sorma (1862-1927), German actress
- Agnes Le Thi Thanh, one of the Vietnamese Martyrs
- Agnes von Kurowsky, American nurse during World War I with whom Ernest Hemingway fell in love
- Ágnes
- Ágnes Herczegh, Hungarian discus thrower
- Ágnes Keleti (born 1920), Hungarian-Israeli Olympic champion artistic gymnast
- Ágnes Mutina, Hungarian swimmer
- Ágnes Primász, Hungarian water polo player
- Ágnes Szatmári (born 1987), Romanian tennis player
- Ágnes Szávay (born 1988), Hungarian tennis player
- Agnès
- Agnès Arnauld (1593–1672), abbess of Port-Royal and major figure in French Jansenism
- Agnès Bénassy-Quéré (born 1966), French economist
- Agnès Delahaie (1920–2003), French film producer
- Agnès Firmin-Le Bodo (born 1968), French politician
- Agnès Godard, César Award-winning French cinematographer
- Agnès Gosselin (born 1967), French figure skater
- Ágnes Heller, Hungarian philosopher
- Agnès Humbert (1894–1963), art historian, ethnographer and member of the French Resistance during World War II
- Agnès Jaoui (born 1964), French screenwriter, film director, actress and singer
- Agnès Maltais (born 1956), Quebec politician
- Agnès Marin (1997–2011), French murder victim
- Agnès Mellon (born 1958), French soprano
- Agnès Merlet (born 1959), French film director
- Agnès Sorel (1421–1450), favourite mistress of King Charles VII of France
- Agnès Souret, French-Basque actress
- Agnès b. (born Agnès Andrée Marguerite Troublé in 1941), French fashion designer
- Agnès Varda (1928–2019), French movie director
- Agness
- Agness Gidna, Tanzanian paleontologist
- Agness Musase (born 1997), Zambian footballer
- Agness Underwood (1902–1984), American journalist and newspaper editor
- Anjezë
- Anjezë Gonxha Bojaxhiu, better known as Mother Teresa, Albanian Catholic religious sister and missionary
See also[]
- All pages with titles beginning with Agnes
- Juana Inés de la Cruz (Iohanna Agnes of the Cross), scholar, poet, nun and a writer
- Agnés Oblige, a main character from the role-playing game Bravely Default
References[]
- ^ Rosenkrantz, Linda, and Satran, Pamela Redmond (2007). Baby Name Bible. St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 978-0-312-35220-2
- ^ "Shakespeare's Wife." New York Times. 4-27-2008.
- ^ Behind the Name
- Given names
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