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Girl · Ancient Greek, through Latin
Agatha
Say it: AG-uh-thuh
Meaning
Greek agathē, 'good'.
Certainscholars agree on this meaning.
Common in medieval Europe, popular again in the 19th century and recently in Poland and Italy.
Its wave through time
A revival, back after decades away
In the United States
- 8,861 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1899, about 1 in 4,000 girls
- 85 babies in 2020
Through the ages
- The Early Middle Ages400 to 800
- The High and Late Middle Ages1100 to 1450
- The Renaissance1400 to 1600
- Victorian and Belle Époque1837 to 1914
- The Modern Age1880 to today
Used by
Early ChristianAncient GreekEnglishFrenchSpanishItalianGermanPolish
The family of the name
Other spellings: Agathe, Agace, Agas
| French | Agathe |
|---|---|
| Spanish | Águeda |
| Italian | Agata |
| Portuguese | Ágata |
| German | Agathe |
| Polish | Agata |
| Russian | Agafya |
| Greek | Agathi |
Famous bearers
- Agatha of Sicily, martyr of the 3rd century
- Agatha Christie, English crime novelist
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- Lives of the saints and early Christian martyrologies
- Calendars of saints and name days
- National birth statistics of European countries source
- English poll taxes and lay subsidy rolls (13th and 14th centuries)
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.