A Scottish and Irish surname, Agnew was originally from France. The name is from the Old French term ‘agnel’ and ‘agneau’ which refers to a lamb and then meaning a meek person. From there it was brought to Scotland and later to Ireland. Variations in spelling for Agnew include Agnev, Aggnew, Agniel, Gneive, MacGneive, Agnewe and O’Gneeves. In England the Agnew names is scattered across most of the region. Most are located in the northern area around Lancashire county. In Scotland Agnew families are in Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire and Ayrshire counties. Within the United States Agnew families are centered in Maryland, New York, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Texas, Ohio and Indiana. Famous: Jim Agnew (a professional hockey player), Robert Agnew (movie film actor), Ray Agnew (professional football player), Spiro Agnew (former governor of Maryland and Vice President of the USA), Charlie Agnew (a jazz musician and band leader), Troy Agnew (professional baseball player and manager), Roy E. Agnew (music composer from Australia), David H. Agnew (19th century medical surgeon who attended to president Garfield when he was shot in 1881), Chloe Agnew (a renown Irish-Celtic singer with the Celtic Woman group) and Billy Agnew (professional footballer from Scotland).