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Agatha (given name)

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For the ancient Greek city Agatha or Agathe in Southern France, see Agde.
Agatha
An Orthodox icon of St. Agatha of Sicily, the saint responsible for the wide usage of the name Agatha
Pronunciation/ˈæɡəθə/[1]
GenderFemale
Language(s)Ancient Greek
Origin
Meaning"good"
Other names
Variant form(s)Ágatha, Agata, Ágata, Agafa
See alsoAg, Aggy, Aggi, Aggie

Agatha, also Agata, is a feminine given name derived from the Greek feminine name Ἀγάθη (Agáthē; alternative form: Ἀγαθή Agathḗ), which is a nominalized form of ἀγαθή (agathḗ), i.e. the feminine form of the adjective ἀγαθός (agathós) "good".[2][3][4]

It was the name of St. Agatha of Sicily, a third-century Christian martyr. Rarely has the name been given in English-speaking countries during recent years.[5] Agatha was last ranked among the top 1,000 names for girls born in the United States during the 1930s.[6]

“Agatha” is a common name in Greece and countries that speak Germanic languages.

Russian name

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In Russian, the name "Ага́та" (Agata) was borrowed from the Western European languages, and derives from the same Ancient Greek root from which older names Agafya[7] and Agafa[8] also come. Its masculine version is Agat.[9] In 1924–1930, the name was included into various Soviet calendars,[10] which included the new and often purposefully created names promoting the new Soviet realities and encouraging the break with the tradition of using the names in the Synodal Menologia.[11]

Its diminutives include Agatka (Ага́тка), Aga (А́га), and Gata (Га́та).[8]

Regional variants

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Diminutive variants

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Popularity

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Agatha has been a rare name in the Anglosphere. It is most often associated with British mystery author Agatha Christie. Recent increases in use in the United States have been associated with its usage for television and movie characters such as Agatha Hannigan, played by popular singer and comic actress Carol Burnett in the 1982 film musical Annie. The appeal of other fictional characters such as precognitive Agatha Lively, played by Samantha Morton in the 2002 film Minority Report, Agatha, an attractive young woman character played by Saoirse Ronan in the 2014 film The Grand Budapest Hotel, Agatha Raisin, an amateur detective in the 2016 TV series based on a series of mystery novels by M.C. Beaton, and Agatha Harkness, a witch played by Kathryn Hahn in the 2021 television series WandaVision, have given the name an avant-garde, attractively quirky image that has inspired more parents to use the name for their daughters. There were 136 newborn American girls called Agatha in 2021, the most since 1926.[14]

People

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Agatha

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Agathe

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Agata

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Fictional characters

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See also

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References

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Notes

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  1. ^ Wells, John (26 March 2010). "Agatha and Helena". John Wells's phonetic blog. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  2. ^ ἀγαθός. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project.
  3. ^ Harper, Douglas. "Agatha". Online Etymology Dictionary.
  4. ^ a b "Agata" (in Swedish). Swedish Institute for Language and Folklore. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  5. ^ Behind the Name
  6. ^ Behind the Name
  7. ^ Nikonov, p. 63
  8. ^ a b Petrovsky, p. 38
  9. ^ a b c d e f Superanskaya [1], p. 251
  10. ^ Superanskaya [2], pp. 22 and 278
  11. ^ Toronto Slavic Quarterly. Елена Душечкина. "Мессианские тенденции в советской антропонимической практике 1920-х - 1930-х годов" (in Russian)
  12. ^ a b "Agaate". Name Doctor. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  13. ^ Aagje and Aagtje at the Meertens Institute database of Dutch given names
  14. ^ Evans, Cleveland Kent (11 September 2022). "Evans: Agatha's Popularity is a Mystery". omaha.com. Omaha World Herald. Retrieved 12 December 2023.

Sources

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  • В. А. Никонов (V. A. Nikonov). "Ищем имя" (Looking for a Name). Изд. "Советская Россия". Москва, 1988. ISBN 5-268-00401-8
  • Н. А. Петровский (N. A. Petrovsky). "Словарь русских личных имён" (Dictionary of Russian First Names). ООО Издательство "АСТ". Москва, 2005. ISBN 5-17-002940-3
  • [1] А. В. Суперанская (A. V. Superanskaya). "Современный словарь личных имён: Сравнение. Происхождение. Написание" (Modern Dictionary of First Names: Comparison. Origins. Spelling). Айрис-пресс. Москва, 2005. ISBN 5-8112-1399-9
  • [2] А. В. Суперанская (A. V. Superanskaya). "Словарь русских имён" (Dictionary of Russian Names). Издательство Эксмо. Москва, 2005. ISBN 5-699-14090-5
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