Ines

Ines is the Germanic, Italian, Slavic, and Scandinavian form of Agnes, a name ultimately derived from the ancient Greek word hagnos, meaning pure or chaste. The name spread widely through medieval Europe largely through the veneration of Saint Agnes of Rome, a young Christian martyr of the early fourth century who became one of the most celebrated virgin saints of the Western church. Inês de Castro, a fourteenth-century Galician noblewoman whose tragic love affair with the Portuguese crown prince made her a legendary figure in Iberian history, helped establish the Portuguese form Inês as a name of enduring literary and cultural resonance. Related forms include the Spanish Inés, the French Inès, and the original Latin and English form Agnes.