Given name & surname
Agnes
“one who is pure; chaste”
Agnes is used as a given name and a surname. One Greek interpretation is “one who is pure; chaste.”
Original GreekΑγνή
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Greek interpretation is “one who is pure; chaste.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Greek.
How it developed
From Ancient Greek Ἁγνή, from Ancient Greek ἁγνός (“pure, chaste”), from Ancient Greek ἁγνεία (“purity, chastity”); its root is Proto-Indo-European *h₁yaǵ-.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Agnes through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 159,982
- 465 boys · 159,517 girls
- Most popular year
- 1918
- 5,303 babies
- 2025
- 246
- #1,016 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +12%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 246 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,016 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 12.4% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 5,291 in 1918. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (31). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 37,898 as a first name in 2020; 805 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Agnes’s family of names
In English usage, Agnes has a diminutive in Nancy. In English usage, Agnes shares an earlier linguistic root with Inez. In English usage, Agnes has a conventional equivalent in the Polish form Agnieszka.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Agnes has relatives in 37 languages. Lines run from its Ancient Greek roots to each of them.
Ancient Greekwhere Agnes comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 39
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Anniediminutive · Scots
- Nancydiminutive · English
- Nettavariant · Finnish
- Anisvariant
- Aggiediminutive · Scots, English
- Nessiediminutive · English
- Agnavariant · Slovene
- Agnetadiminutive · Swedish, German
Show 31 moreShow fewer
- Nanniediminutive · Scots
- Nandiminutive · Scots
- Annisvariant · English
- Annicevariant · English
- Anezkavariant
- Agnellavariant
- Agnessavariant
- Agnesavariant · German, Slovak
- Agnusvariant
- Agnessvariant
- Agnesevariant · German, Italian
- Agnitavariant · German
- Agnneslikely variant
- Agnešvariant · Slovene
- Agnestvariant · Welsh
- Nansiediminutive · Scots
- Aggydiminutive · English
- Nansediminutive · Scots
- Agnevariant · English
- Agnetevariant · Danish, German
- Ageshort form · Estonian
- Aigneisvariant
- Agnekvariant
- Aghnavariant
- Agnettavariant
- Agnetisvariant
- Agnetivariant
- Agnescavariant
- Agniesvariant
- Agneisvariant
- Annestvariant · Welsh
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 52
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- ΑγνήGreek
- Ἁγνήsource · Ancient Greek
- Inesrelated form
- Inezdoublet · English
- Anson“son of” surname · English
- Oonarelated form
- Anisharelated form
- Auneborrowing · Finnish
Show 44 moreShow fewer
- Ynesrelated form
- Agniaequivalent
- Agnieszkacognate · Polish
- Ùnaequivalent
- АгнетаRussian
- 阿格尼絲borrowing · Chinese
- ʻAkenekiborrowing · Hawaiian
- Агнесаderivative · Ukrainian
- Inêsdescendant · Portuguese
- Agnèsderivative · French, Catalan
- Inésderivative · Spanish, Galician
- Nestderivative · English
- HańžaUpper Sorbian
- Oanezrelated form · Breton
- Anežkacognate · Czech
- Агнияequivalent
- Nyéchètafrp
- AigneasScottish Gaelic
- Annyceequivalent
- AgnasFaroese
- Nyèthefrp
- ÁgnesHungarian
- AgnešaSlovak
- Aagnisms
- JagnaPolish
- Agnésalmo
- InézSpanish
- HańžkaUpper Sorbian
- Agnisalso known as · Swedish
- AgnethaSwedish
- АгнессаRussian
- AgnėLithuanian
- Aignéiscognate · Irish
- InèsFrench
- AunisFinnish
- AunettaFinnish
- AuneettaFinnish
- AkniettaFinnish
- AknesFinnish
- AkneettaFinnish
- AkneetaFinnish
- AngeetaFinnish
- Agnethesee also · Danish
- Hagnēversion of
See also 4
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Agnes
- Agnez MoIndonesian singer and actressborn 1986
- Agnes of RomeChristian martyr291–304
- Agnes MooreheadAmerican actress (1900–1974)
- Agnes of PoitouHoly Roman Empress1025–1077
- Agnes ArberBritish botanist (1879-1960)
- Agnes ChowHong Kong political activistborn 1996
- AgnesSwedish singerborn 1988
- Agnes ObelDanish singer, composer, and pianistborn 1980
- Agnes of MeraniaQueen consort of France1172–1201
Characters named Agnes: Agnes Skinner (the The Simpsons franchise).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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