The name passed to Italian as Agnese,[1] to French as Agnès, to Portuguese as Inês, and to Spanish as Inés.

The Greek name descends from the Proto-Indo-European *h₁yaǵ-,[citation needed] meaning 'to sacrifice; to worship', from which also the Vedic term yajña originates.

It was the name of a popular Christian saint, Agnes of Rome, a fact which encouraged its wide use.

[2] Its medieval English pronunciation was Annis, and its usage and many of its forms coincided with the equally popular name "Anna", related in medieval and Elizabethan times to Agnes, though Anne/Ann/Anna derive from the Hebrew 'Hannah" ('God favored me') rather than from the Greek.

The French forms Inès and Ines both ranked among the top ten names for girls born in Brussels, Belgium in 2008.