The various forms of the name Agnes are rather common in Central Europe. In Hungary, it is spelled as Ágnes (and is pronounced with a long first vowel sound), in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, it is Agnesa, and in Poland, Agnieszka. I don't know much about the diminutive forms in other countries, but in Hungary the commonest ones are "Ági" /a:gI/ and hence "Gigi". The best English diminutive I can think of would be Nessie or Nessy (in the same way as Bessie is used for Elizabeth), but I'm aware that this is already associated with the mysterious "inhabitant" of that famous Scottish loch. Since the name derives from the Greek form "hagne" (feminine form of "hagnos"), I can also imagine it could also be Haggie (or Hagie).
The Name Agnes
hi friends,
my name is Agnes and in my country - Poland there are thousands of us! I really like my name because in Polish pronaucination it sounds really soft and girly. Unfortunatelly, an English wersion is not that pleasant also to myself. My English speaking friends always call me "Agnie" what sounds, in my opinion, very nicely, kindly and friendly to me.
And I am not an old lady and have nothing in common with anything oldfashioned, although I agree totaly, the word "AGNES" sounds kind of terrible.
Best regards,
Agnieszka
my name is Agnes and in my country - Poland there are thousands of us! I really like my name because in Polish pronaucination it sounds really soft and girly. Unfortunatelly, an English wersion is not that pleasant also to myself. My English speaking friends always call me "Agnie" what sounds, in my opinion, very nicely, kindly and friendly to me.
And I am not an old lady and have nothing in common with anything oldfashioned, although I agree totaly, the word "AGNES" sounds kind of terrible.
Best regards,
Agnieszka
>>I can also imagine it could also be Haggie (or Hagie).<<
Oh, I'm sure a girl would apreciate being called "Haggy".
rofl
Oh, I'm sure a girl would apreciate being called "Haggy".
rofl
OK, it was just a tentative suggestion. :) "Agnie" sounds best to me as well, although I wouldn't be sure how to pronunce it at first sight, but it looks all right in writing (and it would sound much like Sanskrit "agni", i.e. "fire"). On the whole, the name Agnes seems foreign from the English-speaking world altogether, but not from the central and southern parts of Continental Europe, where many countries have it in one form or another (Agnes/Agnese/Agnesa/Agnieszka/Ágnes/Inés).
I found the name AGATHA in a list of English female names. That's another name that must be rare because I've never met an Agatha either. The only one I've heard of is the author Agatha Christie and she died in 1976. I wonder if she was called Aggie?
Agnieszka: "I really like my name because in Polish pronaucination it sounds really soft and girly...the word "AGNES" sounds kind of terrible. "
I agree, the Polish form of the name is the best-sounding of all variants. By the way, it is a diminutive in itself. In Slavic languages, it sounds strange if a name doesn't end in an "-a", and the "gn" combination coupled with "s" does not sound very pleasant either. The Hungarian form is /a:gnesh/, which sounds softer, and I also like the French version, which is pronounced as /anies/ (with word-final stress, of course), thereby completely eliminating this somewhat unpleasant-sounding "gn".
I agree, the Polish form of the name is the best-sounding of all variants. By the way, it is a diminutive in itself. In Slavic languages, it sounds strange if a name doesn't end in an "-a", and the "gn" combination coupled with "s" does not sound very pleasant either. The Hungarian form is /a:gnesh/, which sounds softer, and I also like the French version, which is pronounced as /anies/ (with word-final stress, of course), thereby completely eliminating this somewhat unpleasant-sounding "gn".
<<I don't think that Aggie would be a very good diminutive name since it sounds exactly the same as Eggy! Unless you like eggs... >>
Aggie and Eggy don't sound the same.
By the way, I don't think there's anything wrong with using 'Aggie' as the diminutive. It sounds much better then Agnes.
Aggie and Eggy don't sound the same.
By the way, I don't think there's anything wrong with using 'Aggie' as the diminutive. It sounds much better then Agnes.
Hello
My name is AGNIESZKA and I am from Poland. My name was very very very popular in 1980's and around that time. I remember in my elementary school I had 6 friends with that name and only in my class!!!!! I use to introduce myself as AGA - this is the only nickname or shortcut which I like to use - but we can also say AGNIESIA AGUSIA.
In my country we have also another very similar name AGATA....
this is the name which I gave to my daughter but with h: AGATHA.
with my husband we like to call my daughter AGI=AGGY or AGITTA (kind of spanish version) or of course AGATKA and AGA. I think the english version of my name is AGNES or INES.
Greetings
AGA
My name is AGNIESZKA and I am from Poland. My name was very very very popular in 1980's and around that time. I remember in my elementary school I had 6 friends with that name and only in my class!!!!! I use to introduce myself as AGA - this is the only nickname or shortcut which I like to use - but we can also say AGNIESIA AGUSIA.
In my country we have also another very similar name AGATA....
this is the name which I gave to my daughter but with h: AGATHA.
with my husband we like to call my daughter AGI=AGGY or AGITTA (kind of spanish version) or of course AGATKA and AGA. I think the english version of my name is AGNES or INES.
Greetings
AGA
Aggie is the diminutive, and if any of you know the Channel 4 programme "How Clean Is Your House?", you'll know that one of the presenters goes by that name.
american nic, I have a 60-something American first cousin named Agnes.
Han Elsker, she has never had a nickname. My family doesn't use them for some reason, and I've never heard anyone else call her anything other than Agnes.
Agnieszka, I love the sound of the name Agnes.
Han Elsker, she has never had a nickname. My family doesn't use them for some reason, and I've never heard anyone else call her anything other than Agnes.
Agnieszka, I love the sound of the name Agnes.
I know a woman called Agnes, she is beautiful and of Asian descent. I want to talk to her behind more than her face!
...just to contribute to the total weight of information on the net.
In my mother's generation and before Agnes was a relatively common name. Here in Glasgow the traditional familiar forms were Nessie (yeah) and Senga (work it out).
In my mother's generation and before Agnes was a relatively common name. Here in Glasgow the traditional familiar forms were Nessie (yeah) and Senga (work it out).
I have named my little sister (a stuffed penguin toy) Agnieszka. Can someone think of a suitable Polish family name for her? Preferably something cute and with a meaning?
Thanks!! ^^
Thanks!! ^^
OK, I have worked it out: with a little help from Wikipedia. I am sure that Agnes sound much nicer in Polish. It couldn't sound any worse than Glaswegian.
Agnes 'n' Senga - The palindromic princesses of Scotland - Satire
A palindrome is a word, phrase, number or other sequence of units (such as a strand of DNA) that has the property of reading the same in either direction (the adjustment of punctuation and spaces between words is generally permitted).
Agnes 'n' Senga - The palindromic princesses of Scotland - Satire
A palindrome is a word, phrase, number or other sequence of units (such as a strand of DNA) that has the property of reading the same in either direction (the adjustment of punctuation and spaces between words is generally permitted).
>> I suppose that Aggie is pronounced ['@gi:], right? <<
Aggie is pronounced ['@gi:] like Uggy? (That's the 'uggiest' sounding name I've ever heard) Really? I would pronounce Aggie as [egi] like "eggie" [egi].
Aggie is pronounced ['@gi:] like Uggy? (That's the 'uggiest' sounding name I've ever heard) Really? I would pronounce Aggie as [egi] like "eggie" [egi].