indicate the level to which a name has been verified.
Meaning & History
Germanic name, in which the second element is win meaning "friend". The first element, ag, is of uncertain origin, though the accepted explanation is that it comes from Proto-Germanic *agjo "sharp, pointed". Because of that, it also means "edge", as in the sharp cutting side of a sword - which is why the meaning of the element has ultimately come to be "sword". See also Anglo-Saxon ecg (in e.g. Egbert) or Old High German ekka (New High German ecke "corner"; see Ekkehard). Other possibilities for the meaning and origin of ag include: Gothic agan "to fear, to be afraid", Old Norse agi "unrest, agitation", Gothic ahjan "to believe" and Old Norse aka "to do, to act".