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". 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. Agatha was last ranked among the top 1,000 names for girls born in the United States during the 1930s. “Agatha” is a common name in Greece and countries that speak Germanic languages.

Russian name

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 and Agafa also come. Its masculine version is Agat. In 1924–1930, the name was included into various Soviet calendars, 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. Its diminutives include ****Agatka (Ага́тка), Aga (А́га), and Gata (Га́та).

Regional variants

Diminutive variants

Popularity

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.

People

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Fictional characters

Sources