# Agnes (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/agnes/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Greek |
| Meaning | “pure”, “chaste”, “purity”, “chastity” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈæɡ.nɪs/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Nessie |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 159,982 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 465 / 159,517 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 1,890, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Ἁγνή (Hagnḗ), coming from Ancient Greek ἁγνός (hagnós, “pure, chaste”), Ancient Greek ἁγνεία (hagneía, “purity, chastity”). Doublet of Inez.

## What it means

Agnes is grouped under pure.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 97 | 2,019 |
| 2012 | 123 | 1,700 |
| 2013 | 124 | 1,689 |
| 2014 | 191 | 1,261 |
| 2015 | 191 | 1,275 |
| 2016 | 233 | 1,103 |
| 2017 | 199 | 1,208 |
| 2018 | 198 | 1,199 |
| 2019 | 215 | 1,125 |
| 2020 | 182 | 1,247 |
| 2021 | 216 | 1,138 |
| 2022 | 228 | 1,095 |
| 2023 | 229 | 1,081 |
| 2024 | 235 | 1,061 |
| 2025 | 246 | 1,016 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1926 | 19 | 1,787 |
| 1927 | 16 | 2,034 |
| 1928 | 12 | 2,390 |
| 1929 | 12 | 2,317 |
| 1930 | 10 | 2,610 |
| 1931 | 9 | 2,652 |
| 1932 | 9 | 2,641 |
| 1933 | 14 | 1,907 |
| 1934 | 8 | 2,743 |
| 1936 | 14 | 1,873 |
| 1937 | 9 | 2,481 |
| 1939 | 6 | 3,116 |
| 1940 | 10 | 2,324 |
| 1942 | 9 | 2,525 |
| 1949 | 6 | 3,301 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 67 | 603 |
| 2012 | 73 | 580 |
| 2013 | 64 | 639 |
| 2014 | 97 | 448 |
| 2015 | 140 | 334 |
| 2016 | 133 | 361 |
| 2017 | 122 | 376 |
| 2018 | 113 | 392 |
| 2019 | 102 | 414 |
| 2020 | 102 | 416 |
| 2021 | 108 | 412 |
| 2022 | 101 | 419 |
| 2023 | 67 | 574 |
| 2024 | 86 | 474 |
| 2025 | 79 | 509 |

## In other languages

- Armenian: Ագնես
- Catalan: Agnès
- Chinese: 阿格尼絲 /阿格尼丝, 艾格尼絲 /艾格尼丝, 愛格妮思 /爱格妮思, 阿格奈什
- Czech: Anežka
- Danish: Agnes
- Dutch: Agnes
- Estonian: Agnes
- Finnish: Aune
- French: Agnès
- German: Agnes
- Greek: Αγνή
- Hungarian: Ágnes
- Icelandic: Agnes
- Irish: Aignéas
- Italian: Agnese
- Latin: Agnes
- Latvian: Agnese
- Norwegian: Agnes
- Polish: Agnieszka, Jagna
- Portuguese: Inês

## People named Agnes

- Agnes of Rome, Christian martyr
- Agnes Moorehead, American actress (1900–1974)
- Agnès Jaoui, French actress, film director, screenwriter and singer
- Agnès Sorel, French Royal mistress (1422-1450)
- Agnes Arber, British botanist (1879-1960)
- Agnes Obel, Danish singer, composer, and pianist
- Agnes Ayres, American actress (1892–1940)
- Agnes Martin, American painter (1912–2004)
- Agnes of France, Byzantine Empress consort (1171 – on or after 1220)
- Agnes Pockels, German chemist pioneer in surface science
- Agnes Baden-Powell, British scouting pioneer
- Agnes of Waiblingen, Duchess of Swabia

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.