Agnes

AG-nis (English); ahn-YEZ (French); ANK-nehs (German); ANG-nehs (Swedihs); OW-nes (Dutch)

Greek

"pure, virginal"

Agnes Origin and Meaning

The name Agnes is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "pure, virginal".

Agnes is the Latin variation of the name Hagne, which itself derived from the Greek word hagnos, meaning "chaste." In medieval times, St. Agnes was a very popular saint, leading to its popularity as a girl's name. Agnes Grey is the title of one of the two novels written by Anne Brontë.

Agnes, though it was the third most common English girls' name for four hundred years, has long been stuck in the attic. But now it looks like Agnes was so far out it's just about ready to come back in. It did look cute on a little girl in Despicable Me, and nickname Aggie has lots of retro appeal.

Agnes has also been making inroads in the celebrisphere—first actress Elisabeth Shue chose Agnes for her third child, while Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany named their daughter Agnes Lark. More recently in 2025, actress Amber Heard named one of her twins Agnes.

The French pronunciation—ahn-YEZ—could make it more attractive, but few Americans would comply. Other interesting variations: the Welsh Nesta, the Latin/Scandinavian Agneta, the Spanish Inez/Ines/Ynez, and the Scottish Senga—which happens to be Agnes spelled backwards.

Agnes Rank in US Top 1000

# 986 in the US

Agnes Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 197 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Agnes

• 197 Nameberry 2025
• 63 Unique 2024
• 474 England 2024
• 16 sweden 2024
• 46 Norway 2022
• 8 Denmark 2024

20 Names Similar to Agnes

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Agnes.

• Dorothea
• Agatha
• Winifred
• Henrietta
• Philippa
• Edith
• Wilhelmina
• Frances
• Dorothy
• Augusta
• Maude
• Ramona
• Constance
• Tabitha
• Bernadette
• Esther
• Harriet
• Alma
• Sybil
• Theodora

Famous People Named Agnes

• Saint Agnes of Rome 3rd century virgin,martyr
• Saint Agnes of Assisi sister of Clare of Assisi, abbess of the Order of Poor Ladies
• (Marie) Agnes Henriette Princess of Hohenlohe,Langenburg; Hereditary Princess of Löwenstein,Wertheim,Rosenberg
• (Frederica Amalia) Agnes Princess of Anhalt,Dessau; Duchess consort of Saxe,Altenburg
• Agnes Sorel mistress of King Charles VII of France
• Agnes George de Mille American dancer and choreographer
• Agnes Ayres (born Agnes Eyre Henkel) American silent film actress
• Agnes Bruckner American actress
• Agnes Robertson Moorehead American actress
• Agnes (Emilia Carlsson) Swedish pop singer
• Agnes Caroline Thaarup Obel Danish singer,songwriter
• Agnes Varis American businesswoman and philanthropist
• Agnes Nixon American soap opera writer and producer
• Agnes Catharina Kant Dutch politician
• Agnes Schierhuber Austrian politician
• Agnes Varda French New Wave film director
• Agnes Martin 20th century American Abstract artist
• Agnes Mary Nolan Cohan American dancer
• Agnes Randolph Countess of Dunbar and March, was better known as Black Agnes, a Scottish heroine who famously withstood a siege of her castle by the English , "Cam I early, cam I late, I found Agnes at the gate"
• Agnes Monica Indonesian singer and actress
• Agnes Yorke (b. 2004) daughter of singer Thom Yorke of Radiohead
• Agnes Charles (b. 2006) daughter of actress Elisabeth Shue
• Agnes Lark Bettany (b. 2011) daughter of actors Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany
• Agnes Bro Asbæk (b. 2012) daughter of actor Pilou Asbæk and Anna Bro

The name Agnes in Pop Culture

• "Agnes Grey " novel by Anne Bronte and its main character
• Agnes Rackam delusional wife of William Rackam in Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber
• "Agnes " novel by Peter Stamm and its main character
• "Agnes " comic strip by Tony Cochran and its main character
• Agnes birth name of Esmeralda in Victor Hugo's "The Hunchback of Notre,Dame"
• Agnes Fleming mother of the title character in Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist"
• Agnes Gru little girl in movie "Despicable Me"
• Agnes de Villeroy character in G. A. Henty's, At Agincourt
• Agnes Andrews character in the Gossip Girl series
• Agnes character in movie "The Poker House"
• Agnes Holland character on TV's "Upstairs Downstairs"
• Agnes Pitt character in the American Girl Samantha series, twin sister of Agatha Pitt
• Agnes Adler character in movie "It's Complicated"
• Agnes Wickfield character in Charles Dickens' "David Copperfield"
• Agnes Gooch homely character in "Mame"
• Agnes Skinner Principal Skinner's mother from "The Simpsons"
• Agnes de Burg character in G. A. Henty's, Wulf the Saxon
• Agnes Harmon Arthur's deceased wife on TV's "Maude"
• Agnes nerdy character on TV's "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody"
• Agnes witch on TV's "The Originals"
• Agnes Prout character in Jenny Nimmo's "The Children of the Red King" series
• Agnes Crumplebottom character in "The Sims" (1 , 3) video/computer games
• Agnès Oblige character in the Square Enix game series "Bravely Default"
• Agnes Towler character on TV's Mr. Selfridge
• Agnes Kristofferson's love interest in the movie 'Fantastic Mr Fox'
• "Agnes" song by Glass Animals
• Agnes Rofa character in TV show "The Umbrella Academy"
• Agnes Jurati character in the upcoming TV series "Star Trek: Picard"
• Agnes Montague character in the podcast 'The Magnus Archives'
• Agnes Kitsworth character in TV's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."

International Variations of the name Agnes

• Agnese Spanish
• Agnesca Italian
• Oanez Breton
• Anete Italian
• Agnethe Scandinavian
• Anka Czech
• Agnella Italian
• Anezka Czech
• Agnessa Russian
• Agnesa Czech
• Neza Slavic
• Agnia Russian
• Ines Portuguese
• Agneta Scandinavian
• Anneke Dutch
• Nessa Russian
• Nesta Welsh
• Ynes Spanish
• Inez Portuguese
• Agna German
• Agnesina Italian
• Agnola Italian
• Aignéis Irish Gaelic
• Inessa Russian
• Inesa Spanish
• Ynez Spanish
• Antje German
• Agnek Scandinavian
• Anke German
• Agneska Czech
• Agne Scandinavian
• Hagne Italian