Name of the Day: Agnes
Once upon a time, she was as common as Emma is today. Circa 2009, she’s an underused classic with plenty of potential for revival.
Thanks to Emmy Jo and Kate for suggesting our Name of the Day: Agnes.
Believe it or not, in sixteenth century England, you were almost sure to meet an Agnes. Only Elizabeth and Joan were more popular choices for daughters. You might not recognize her, though – variants including Annis and Agneta were more common than the version we know today.
The name derives from the Greek hagnos, or holy. It’s also sometimes interpreted as chaste. That fits with the biography of the first famous Agnes – a virgin martyr who met her fate under the Diocletian persecutions in the early 300s. She’s long been considered a saint and a worthy role model – hence all those girls wearing her name.
Several of them were quite famous in the Middle Ages. Agnes of Poitou married the Holy Roman Emperor and later served as regent for her son. The name stayed in the family, and at least two princess Agneses went on to become highly regarded nuns. A Bohemian princess, Agnes of Prague, not only took holy orders in the thirteenth century, but was also canonized.
While Agnes doesn’t mean lamb, Catholics and Episcopalians everywhere will recognize the Latin phrase Agnus Dei – lamb of God. And so Agnes has a little lamb in many artistic renderings.
If this name strikes you as rather religious, you’re not alone. During the Protestant Reformation, she fell out of favor with reform-minded parents. Agnes might have languished in obscurity, but the poet John Keats came to her rescue.
In 1819, Keats penned “The Eve of St. Agnes.” The heroine of the poem was Madeline. Superstition dictated that a young woman might dream of her future husband on the eve of St. Agnes’ feast day – January 21. On a freezing cold winter’s night, Madeline did just that. Her enterprising suitor opted to appear in his beloved’s bedroom – despite a Capulet-Montague like feud between their families – and the pair eloped by the last stanza.
Keats had a hit on his hands, and Agnes became one of many medieval favorites revived in the nineteenth century. In the US, she reached as high as #39 in 1899.
Famous Agneses from recent history include:
- A nurse named Agnes had an affair with Ernest Hemingway, and became the model for several of his characters;
- Agnes Ayres starred opposite Rudolph Valentino in The Sheik;
- You might associate Agnes Moorehead with television’s Bewitched, but before she played meddlesome mother-in-law Endora, she had quite the movie career – including her debut role in Citizen Kane;
- Mother Teresa was born Agnesë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu.
There are plenty more, especially if you consider women named Inés - an Italian and Spanish variant.
Agnes might have been an unthinkable choice just a few years ago. In the US, she hasn’t charted in the Top 1000 since 1972. And the successful 1980s play and movie Agnes of God, about a nun claiming a virgin birth, probably didn’t encourage her use.
But the movie was more than twenty years ago. Now with playgrounds filled with girls called Abby and Addie, Aggie seems just right – neither too unusual or too close to current chart-toppers. With Frances and Alice sounding more and more fashionable, Agnes could be quite charming on a daughter.
Filed under: Literary Babes, Little Ruler, Medieval Monikers, Names for Girls, Names of the Day, Saints | 17 Comments
Tags: Aggie, Agnes, Agnese, Agneta, Annis
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My first take on Agnes is “old woman.” I see the possibility of revival and that it fits in with some others that are popular… but Agnes still is not one of my favorites. I just see a blue-haired woman.
I agree that I find Agnes pretty geriatric.
One of my favorite Agnes is a character by Terry Pratchett – Agnes Nitt. Being familiar with her tempts me to like the name. Almost
I keep meaning to read the Discworld series, Bek – if Terry Pratchett is a good namer, that might be reason enough to wade through all those books!
Aww, I adore Agnes and she always gets shot down as “old lady”. Even the other half thinks she’s too musty. Shame really. She’s got such a delicate sound, even with that ‘g’ in there. I’m a Keats fan and was thrilled as a kid to realise he just about single-handedly revived Agnes. Pretty awesome thing to do, in my book. Agnes is yet another medieval name I really dig. I’d happily use it & nn her Nessa, Aggie’s too hard sounding for me (and what kills Agatha for me). Sweet! Maybe I’ll get lucky and meet a little Agnes sometime soon. I know I’d be beyond the moon with happiness if I did!
Nessa! That’s a fabulous nn for Agnes! Ooh …
I’m generally not into the fusty-sounding names (so Frances, Maud, and Edith do nothing for me). However, I’ve fallen head-over-heels for Agnes. I think its the romanticism of the John Keats poem that did it for me. “The Eve of St. Agnes” sounds so … bewitching.
I’m not sure I’d ever be brave enough to use this name, but she’s one of my secret loves.
All my life I have dismissed Agnes as an unattractive “old-lady” name, but now I’m giving her a second look. To me, Agnes now seems cutting-edge stylish, and the nn Aggie is quite cute, as is Nessa. Its association with Mother Teresa makes it a great hero name, too.
I LOVE Agnes!! I was thrilled to see you cover her, Verity. She doesn’t work with my last name, but I’d have a lot of respect for any parent with the taste to use her!
I really like Agnes, actually, but I prefer Agatha. I think it’s because I feel like the G needs a balancer, like the -a ending of Agatha. I would love to see either one used, though!
Ines intrigues me, but I don’t like it nearly as much as Agnes.
Agnes doesn’t work with our last name, but Agatha does! Thanks for that thought, Cat.
I can never decide if I like Agnes or not. Some days I love it and other days, not at all. Today I don’t like it… I think I prefer Agatha.
I quite like Agnes, and Agatha, for that matter. They just seem rather ‘humble’ to me. Plus, both Aggie and Nessie/a are very cute nn! I don’t know if I’d like her enough to use her in the fn spot though. She might make a nice middle for say, Viola.. Viola Agnes ___? Pearl? maybe.
Anyway, the cutting edge, rather popular model, Agyness Deyn, might bring the name up a few notches/?!
Viola Agnes is intriguing! And you’re right about the model, Sophie.
I knew an Agnieszka in college, plus there’s director Agnieszka Holland. Since my husband is Polish, that one always stays top of mind – but we decided against using seriously Polish names early on. Too bad … the more I think about Agnieszka, the more I like her!
Ooh, I do like Viola Agnes Pearl… Viola and Pearl happen to be two of my very favorites! I think even though they’re both old fashioned, they dress Agnes up so she’s not so dowdy. Love it!
See, yesterday I didn’t like Agnes, today I do… I’m too fickle!
I really like Agnes. And Agatha, for that matter. I am pretty sure my husband would dismiss them both as too old fashioned, since he’s a fan of Mackenzie, but I am glad to see that some other people out there in the Onomasphere like these two. Our last name starts with S though, so Agatha edges it out.
I have really mixed opinions on “old lady” names– I like these two, and I do like Edith as well. Frances could get by me as a middle name, but Maud is right out, as are Millicent, Mildred, and Gertie. (On the other hand, Gertie seems like the kind of name that might grow on me, and it’s a family name too. I won’t know unless/until I get pregnant. I’ve been known to start out hating a name and then to end up loving and using it. LOL)
Thanks for making Agnes a name of the day Apellation Mountain. I am very much a fan of hers, obviously – given that I requested her! I can see why others would think she sounds old-ladyish, she does! But I love that old fashioned musty vibe. That, and the fact she sounds very proper, almost regal and yet quite short, snappy and to the point too. The potential nickname Aggy does put me off her a bit, as it does Agatha, but I remain undeterred: Agnes rocks!
There’s nothing wrong with giving your kid an ‘old-person ‘ name. SOme people LOVE them & others don’t. Personally, I couldn’t care about it being geriatric- I just dislike the sound. It’s so harsh and make me feel awkward when I say it or here.