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Baby names

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Original poster

Agnes? (Nn Nancy?)

62 replies

Izzyathome · 09/03/2017 07:13

I recently met a really adorable blonde curly two year old girl called Agnes and it has really turned me on to the name. It's my grandma's name so it would have a nice meaning for us. She was always known as Nancy and we already have Nancy on our list - but suddenly the full name of Agnes feels fresher.

Do you think Agnes is nice on its own? Would you have Agnes nn. Nancy? Or just Nancy? Or neither?

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florascotianew · 09/03/2017 18:18

I think it depends on which part of Scotland you come from, but I know more than one old lady Agnes usually called Nancy. So to my mind that's traditional, even though Anne and Agnes are different names, as one previous poster suggests. The Scottish legal phrase 'by custom and practice' is relevant here, I think.

Senga is (obviously) Agnes reversed and - at least in Glasgow - is slang for a girl from disadvantaged housing location/family background.

Annis is widely used as a pronounciation of Agnes in the north and east of Scotland and I think it sounds rather nice. As does - as a different previous poster says - the French Agnes = Ann-yeyss.

ClaryIsTheBest · 09/03/2017 17:55

Senga? Huh, interesting. Senga does sound rather nice, doesn't it? But as a standalone name, not as a nickname for Agnes...

thebakerwithboobs · 09/03/2017 17:29

Nessa reminds me of Gavin and Stacey and Nancy is what our family call your lady parts! So it's a no to both from me Grin

FrancisCrawford · 09/03/2017 17:26

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

DramaAlpaca · 09/03/2017 16:24

I like Agnes, but I'm not keen on Nancy.

ActuallyThatsSUPREMECommander · 09/03/2017 16:11

I like Agnes. Actually all 3 of the Despicable Me girls are good retro names now, Margo, Edith and Agnes. Twenty years ago they'd have been hilariously awful but now they're really chic.

BounceBounceSplishSplash · 09/03/2017 16:06

I don't like the name Agnes. I like Nancy though and wouldn't associate it as a nn for Agnes so would just put Nancy on the BC.

(I know an unpleasant Agnes so that might be what is putting me off the name).

MollyHuaCha · 09/03/2017 15:22

I love Agnes, also Agatha. I'm not so keen on Nancy.

BaymaxismyHero · 09/03/2017 15:20

Nancy is lovely. Personally I think Agnes is an ugly name.

CakeRattleandRoll · 09/03/2017 15:18

Love both of them. (Would use Nessa as nn for Agnes.)

Sophronia · 09/03/2017 14:18

I love Agnes! Not keen on Nancy though.

FrenchLavender · 09/03/2017 13:40

Agnes is fine, Nancy is fine, but naming her Agnes in order to call her Nancy is just plain ridiculous.

Pick the one you like best and stop overthinking it. But if you pick Agnes then PLEASE call her Agnes and not Aggie, which is awful.

CotswoldStrife · 09/03/2017 13:19

Nancy. But there again I am not a fan of old-age names, being older myself I associate them with Uncles, Aunts and Grandparents!

ThursdayLastWeek · 09/03/2017 13:08

I love Agnes.
Personally I wouldn't use Nancy as a nn but only because it's a perfectly sensible stand alone name.

2014newme · 09/03/2017 13:05

Both fine but neither is a shortened or nickname of the other they are two different names

ClaryIsTheBest · 09/03/2017 13:02

Nancy is lovely, sort of fresh and ruffly and bouncy.

Right? it's a really lovely name:)!!

Agnes is a very depressed name imo. And of a person with greasy hair.

Maybe because of an adoption of Fucking Amål I once watched?

villainousbroodmare · 09/03/2017 12:36

Nancy is lovely, sort of fresh and ruffly and bouncy. I also like Annis a lot.
Agnes is grim enough to my ears and Aggie is a shocker.

FirstSeemItThenBeIt · 09/03/2017 12:34

Agnes is an old lady name, and not in the good way. And I'm Scottish!

Just go with Nancy. Using Nancy as a nickname for Agnes is like calling your daughter Susan and giving her the nickname Bella. Confused

ClaryIsTheBest · 09/03/2017 12:32

I like Nancy :)

ToastVacuum · 09/03/2017 10:10

I haven't heard of Nancy as a nickname for Agnes but clearly it's legit so go for it Smile

MrsNuckyThompson · 09/03/2017 10:05

Nancy is an extremely normal nn for Agnes in Scotland, so ignore PPs who disagree!

I like both names but didn't use because of an abundance of aged relatives jn the family!

Abetes · 09/03/2017 09:18

I know two teenage girls called Agnes amongst my dc's friends. Both are shortened to Aggie. I wouldn't have liked the name at all before meeting these two girls but they are so lovely that I have warmed to it.

HelenDenver · 09/03/2017 09:14

The "sound" is quite similar so I can see why Nancy was a NN.

I do prefer Nancy because I don't like the "ag" sound, also think Aggie is a likely NN

HarrietVane99 · 09/03/2017 09:04

Not keen on Agnes. What about Annis? It's a variant of Agnes, also Scottish, I believe, and would avoid people calling her Aggie. Autocorrect wants to make it Annie, so you'd probably get a lot of that, though.

user1478957523 · 09/03/2017 08:58

My mum is 72 and her birth name is Agnes, but she has always been known as Nancy! So I think it was quite common then to use Nancy as a nn. I think they are both nice but I prefer Agnes.