# Agnew (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/agnew/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 9,856 |
| US rank (2010) | 3,602 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 31,326 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.2% (9,644 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈæɡ.nu/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Two possible origins: * Scottish habitational surname of Norman origin, from the village of Agneaux, in Normandy. * Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Gnímh (“descendant of Gníomh”), a byname from gníomh (“action, deed, act”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Agnew in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 68% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 26% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.3% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.3% |
| Two or more races | 2.4% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Agnew in the United States and the United Kingdom.

## People named Agnew

- Harold Agnew, American physicist (1921–2013)
- John A. Agnew, American British-born geographer
- Robert Agnew, American actor (1899-1983)
- Jamal Agnew, American football player (born 1995)
- Lee Agnew, British drummer and percussionist

## Similar surnames

Agan, Agin, Aquino, Acuna, Aiken, Akin, Aucoin, Azam, Ahsan, Askin, Azcona, Aasen.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.