The

family name In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

Begbie (orig. ''Baikbie'', 1566. ''Baigbie'', 1594) originates in south-east

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, where it is most common in the

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and

East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...

areas. Begbie is derived from the

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

personal name A personal name, full name or prosoponym (from Ancient Greek ''prósōpon'' – person, and ''onoma'' –name) is the set of names by which an individual person or animal is known. When taken together as a word-group, they all relate to that on ...

and

byname An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

''Baggi'' + Old Norse ''býr''; 'settlement' or 'farm'. Whilst also appearing in Old Danish, Baggi was used to describe a 'bag', 'pack', 'bundle' or 'ram' (male sheep) in Old Norse. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, Baggi was also used as a byname for a 'Norwegian, man from

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

.' The earliest documented usage is recorded in Norway during the 14th century (in Bohuslän, now

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

). In its contemporary form, Bagge appears both as a given and family name in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and the southern regions of Sweden and Norway. (Derivative forms of the name can also be found in

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

. For example, the Danish

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, b ...

form Baggesen, and equivalent Norwegian form Baggesson, meaning "Son of Bagge"). 'Bagge Baggesen', a 51 year old male, is noted in the Danish national

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 1850 as residing in Ålborg. Vintage_road_sign

The place name refers to the small

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

of Begbie, 5° 55'42.00"N 2°48'55.00"W east of Samuelston, near the

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

Haddington, East Lothian The Royal Burgh of Haddington (, ) is a town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is the main administrative, cultural and geographical centre for East Lothian. It lies about east of Edinburgh. The name Haddington is Anglo-Saxon, dating from the six ...

. (The same place name elements can be found in Baggeby, Stockholm county, Sweden, and also Bagby,

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

). The lands of Begbie (orig. Bagby) were gifted to the nunnery at Haddington by its founder, Queen Ada, wife of Henry, King of Scots, and mother to Malcolm IV and William I, upon her death in 1178. Begbie is one of a number of settlements in East Lothian whose place name elements are Scandinavian in origin. Others include Humbie, Pogbie and Blegbie. Notable people and characters with the surname include: * Alfred William Begbie, British civil servant in India * Denis Begbie (1914–2009), South African cricketer * Harold Begbie (1871–1929), English author and journalist * Isaac Begbie (born 1868), Scottish footballer * James Begbie (1798–1869), British medical doctor * James Warburton Begbie (1826–1876), British medical doctor * Jeremy Begbie, Thomas A. Langford Research Professor at Duke Divinity School, Duke University * Herbert Gordon Smirnoff Begbie (born 1905), former

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...

* Matthew Baillie Begbie (1819–1894), British-born judge who served in British Columbia *John (Jack) E Mouland Begbie (1900-1983), founding member and ''Leader'' of the BBC Scottish Orchestra *Francis Begbie, the main antagonist in '' Trainspotting'', its prequel '' Skagboys'' and sequels '' Porno'' and '' The Blade Artist'', as well as the 1996 film adaptation of ''Trainspotting'' and its 2017 sequel

References

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See also

References