Agnes
Where Agnes comes from
Borrowed from Ancient Greek Ἁγνή (Hagnḗ), coming from Ancient Greek ἁγνός (hagnós, “pure, chaste”), Ancient Greek ἁγνεία (hagneía, “purity, chastity”). Doublet of Inez.
- Ancient Greek
- 2 syllables
Along the way
- 300Agnes of Rome bornChristian martyr
- 1880First SSA yearAlready #54 among girls — 473 babies in the first year on record.
- 1899Peak, #371,611 babies named Agnes — more than any year before or since.
- 1900Agnes Moorehead bornAmerican actress
- 1949The fadeThe first year with half the peak's births — down to #288.
In the dictionary
- A female given name from Ancient Greek.
Namesakes
- Agnes of Rome · Christian martyr, 300–304
- Agnes Moorehead · American actress, 1900–1974
- Agnes of Poitou · Holy Roman Empress, 1025–1077
- Agnes Arber · British botanist, 1879–1960
- Agnes Chow · Hong Kong political activist, born 1996
Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.