I'm wondering, Agnes, cute or frumpy?

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-25-2007
I'm wondering, Agnes, cute or frumpy?
38
Sun, 06-10-2007 - 9:33pm

Hi again everybody,

I originally asked about what people liked Audrey, Ashley, Adriana, Agnes or Genieve (Genevieve)etc? I want to thank people for their responses. My DH and I were having trouble deciding on a name especially, DH. We decided on Agnes (family name) and now there is an outcry from family and friends that it is mean to name our baby this. What do people think? I don't want her made fun of on the playground or later in life. Our thoughts were that the name is old fashioned and therefore time to revive it.

Let me know. Help!

KA

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-11-2006
Mon, 06-11-2007 - 12:34am

Hi there! Just ignore the negative comments! It's a family name and you and DH both love it...that is what is most important here.

However, I might consider "softening" Agnes up a bit with the nn Nessa or Ness, which I think is adorable -- along the lines of Tess/Tessa. My second choice would be the nn Aggie, but I know way too many Maggies, so it's not as fresh as Nessa. Anyway, the nickname would give your daughter options, and it might even make the name more "accessible" to your relatives and friends (again, not that it's their decision, but just something to consider!)

Two additionall Agnes tidbits:
--The actress Elisabeth Shue named her daughter Agnes James in 2006...so perhaps the mini revival has begun.
--Agnes Bruckner is a beautiful young actress (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0115671/).
She doesn't appear to have been teased on the playground -- in fact, she looks quite well-adjusted! :)

Good luck!

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-15-2006
Mon, 06-11-2007 - 1:10am

I really don't care for it. I think its nice to use a family name, but I would be worried about her being teased in school. You are other choices are nice, though.

Sorry.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-15-2007
Mon, 06-11-2007 - 9:55am

I understand where some of the negative comments are coming from, and I think that the posters with negative comments are simply pitching in their two cents so that you have a full spectrum of opinions to consider. That said, I like Agnes a lot, and I'd like to offer my perspective as someone who grew up with, and has come to love, one of the names on a previous poster's too-frumpy list.

I was never teased for my name. Not once. Sure, I got teased about things like every kid, but not about my name. Part of the reason may have been that I had a cute nickname (not the same nickname I use on this board), much like Ness, Nessa or Nessie.

So I think that you should feel free to use Agnes if that is the name you love best. And who knows, perhaps Agnes will be the new Hannah or Olivia. Good luck with your decision!

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-01-1999
Mon, 06-11-2007 - 10:27am
Agnes is wonderful-I would be ecstatic to come across a baby Agnes :)

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iVillage Member
Registered: 10-06-2003
Mon, 06-11-2007 - 11:01am
A little frumpy to me....but who knows? Stars pick these kind of names and they seem to grow on us.
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-30-2006
Mon, 06-11-2007 - 11:17am

I have an Agnes in my family and she has hated her name since she can remember. Matter of fact she has her sisters call her Joan because she doesn't like to be called Agnes and she has told her children/grandchildren not to even think about naming a baby after her. So that's from the point of view of an Agnes.

However, I love the Italian version of Agnes which is something you might consider. I think it's spelled Agnese and it's pronounced Ahn-yah-zee.

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-28-2004
Mon, 06-11-2007 - 11:23am
Agnese would be pronounced like ahn-YEH-zeh or ahn-YAY-zay.
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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-01-2003
Mon, 06-11-2007 - 12:49pm

I don't think it's cute at all - it's very old-sounding to me - I wouldn't consider it a timeless classic, like some of the other names that were also used 100 years ago, it's not one of those - it's just old. sorry, but not cute. frumpy is actually a pretty good word for it

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-05-2006
Mon, 06-11-2007 - 12:51pm

You may receive more negative than positive feedback in general. That only serves to make the positive more genuine and special.


Agnes is catchy and ready for a comeback IMO. However, it won't ever be for everyone because the dust on it is a little harder to wear off than some of the more lilting, lightweight, lacy, old

Ginger

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-02-2005
Mon, 06-11-2007 - 1:24pm

I already posted my opinion on Agnes (still love it, btw, lol), but wanted to comment on the "being teased/kids can be so cruel" statements.

Kids tease other children all the time. No matter what you name your child, this is going to happen. You can give him/her the most popular, common, familiar name there is, and someone else will find a way to make a joke from it. She may not even get teased for her name at all, but for something else entirely. So if I were you, I wouldn't let something like that stand in the way of your using Agnes, especially with the "softer" nn options of Ness, Nessa, or Nessie.

As for teasing in later life? Come on. If, as a young lady or an adult, she gets teased because of her name...well, the people doing the teasing are far less mature than they should be, and aren't the kinds of people she'll probably want to be hanging around with, anyway.