Inés

Pure; traditionally also interpreted as chaste.

Inés is a feminine Spanish name whose meaning, “pure” or “chaste”, comes from the Greek roots of Agnes. The Spanish form has a different sound and shape from Agnes, but belongs to the same name family. Its accent marks the stress on the final syllable: i-NÉS. A particularly rich literary association is Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, the seventeenth-century poet and nun of New Spain, in what is now Mexico. For someone drawn to Spanish-language literature, that connection adds a layer of cultural interest to this brief name. Inés can feel poised without being elaborate. The light opening vowel leads into a more definite final syllable, giving it a neat, contained rhythm.

Etymology: The Spanish form of Agnes, from Greek Hagnē, the feminine of hagnos, meaning “pure” or “chaste”.