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Baby names

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Original poster

Agnes & Agnus - Yay or Nay?

63 replies

Teethingpainagain · 17/01/2023 22:49

Am I the only one that find these names terrible?

Does this “Agn” start reminds you of the words angry & ugly somehow merged into one word which apparently is a name ?!

Plus that my tongue is partially strangled….

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Sparklingblah · 20/01/2023 10:31

Oh gosh it does show how different people are because I would a thousand times rather be an Agnes (like the model Agyness Deyn, who changed her name FROM Laura Michelle Hollins) which is a bit cool and different than Sophia L which is nice enough but super bland and generic these days. (Sophia used to be one of my favourite names 20 years ago as so unusual, only 1 friend called it!). But then I know so many people who have scoured the top ten and gone with Olivia and Jack or Emily and Harry (all lovely names but I know of one class where there is more than one Olivia P) so I can see that fitting in to a popular tribe is really important to some people which is fair enough!

Back2Back2t · 20/01/2023 10:24

Agnes is an old ladies name.
Angus sounds like a medium rare steak.
No to both.

BluePolar · 20/01/2023 10:23

I know the most gorgeous Agnes so I couldn’t love the name more

KirstenBlest · 20/01/2023 10:22

I know some Trebors

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 20/01/2023 10:13

A while back the name Senga was popular in Scotland because it's Agnes backwards.

I'm amazed that Trebor (as in the strong mints) never took off as a baby name, tbh!!

Laureatus · 20/01/2023 00:45

They're both fine, but don't use them if you don't like them. A while back the name Senga was popular in Scotland because it's Agnes backwards. I was treated by a Glaswegian nurse called Senga a few years ago!

AmandaMirandaPanda · 19/01/2023 23:57

I think 'gn' might be difficult for a lot of people to say in English. Dagny. Ignacio. Magnolia. Ragnhild. Zbigniew. It gets softened or smoothed out a little in some of the versions of Agnes in other languages like Agnetha, Agnieszka.

I like Angus. And Ingrid.

Owlyhedgehog · 19/01/2023 22:59

I really like Agnes and also really like Agatha

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 19/01/2023 19:46

I like them both, although I too was worried that somebody might be using both of those names for twins, which would be a bit de trop!

Angus does a little bit make me think of Hangus the Monkey, mind; and wasn't Desperate Dan's Aunt Aggie's full name Agnes? I'm not a fan of Senga, which has grown quite popular now; if it were just an individual name in its own right, I wouldn't object, but I find the whole deliberate reversing things a bit twee - although nowhere near as much as Neveah!

I really love Seth, though, although I agree with PP that you have to tread very carefully with 'th' names if your local accent always renders them as 'ff'. Arthur is lovely, but 'Arfur' is awful (or awthul Grin).

CharitySchmarity · 19/01/2023 17:58

I like both names but would definitely not use them for siblings. For one thing I would never give siblings the same initial anyway, for another these two names really are very similar in terms of letters and sounds, but most importantly of all, I think they have very different "feels" that kind of clash. Angus is rugged, outdoorsy and tough. Agnes is classic and dignified.

CakeRattleandRoll · 19/01/2023 15:46

Really like both names.

RuthW · 18/01/2023 12:43

I love Angus

Awwlookatmybabyspider · 18/01/2023 12:32

I just don't like the sound of Angus that's as far as it goes, but I detest Agnes Its very harsh and unfriendly and frumpy sounding. To me its in the same vein as Judith Constance. Henrietta. Veronica. Hilda. Hilary and Ethel.

MerryChristmasToYou · 18/01/2023 12:17

I thought you were naming siblings.
Both names are fine. Not keen on Seth, mainly because of Seth Armstrong.

scottishnames · 18/01/2023 10:28

Not angry or ugly at all. I like them both.
Angus = a Celtic young man god of love
Agnes = chaste. Not a bad virtue. Also associated with a smiliar sounding word meaning lamb (so gentle, pretty etc)

Traditionally, in many parts of Scotland Agnes is pronounced 'Annis'.

Mercurial123 · 18/01/2023 09:16

I really like both names.

LightHousePanda · 18/01/2023 09:09

I'm also glad you're not planning on naming your twins or children those two names 😂which is what i thought when i saw the title.

LightHousePanda · 18/01/2023 09:08

I agree with you OP - also on the dislike of Seth.
I think Angus is softer than Agnes but still both have a negative reaction with me.

I know popular names are slated on here a lot and having spent time on naming boards like this I do find I'm bored of names like Sophia, Olivia, Isla etc but then I'd much much rather be Sophia L than solitary Agnes, and I think the average girl would feel the same.

embolass · 18/01/2023 06:52

Both awful soz

MrNook · 18/01/2023 05:17

I like both. I don't find them angry or ugly.

I do think it's weird to start a thread just to slate the names though!

If someone's reading this and your DC have either name, I think they're lovely!

Twoinapod · 18/01/2023 05:02

I love Angus, unfortunately I have no Scottish heritage so it would be strange to use it. Agnes isn’t my taste but I don’t like old lady names.

Saying you feel sorry for your friends baby because they have one of those names though is a bit ridiculous. Says a lot about you as a person, I feel sorry for your friend.

junebirthdaygirl · 18/01/2023 00:36

I don't like Agnes but love Angus. In lrish Agnes is called Una..pronounced Oonagh and love that name.

margegunderson · 17/01/2023 23:36

Must all names be pretty and twinkly?

ODFOx · 17/01/2023 23:23

I like Agnes, Angus and Seth.
Wouldn't life be dull if we all liked the same things?

chocolateismyjam · 17/01/2023 23:15

Lord, from the title I thought you were proposing to have two kids named this 😐

Thankfully not!

I don't like Agnes much, but Angus is OKish

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