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 The Danish language developed during the Middle Ages out of Old East Norse, the common predecessor of Danish and Swedish. It was a late form of common Old Norse. The Danish philologist Johannes Brøndum-Nielsen divided the history of Danish in ...

, 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 Bohuslän () is a Provinces of Sweden, Swedish province in Götaland, on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea to the ...

, 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 Aalborg or Ålborg ( , , ) is Denmark's fourth largest urban settlement (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an urban population of 143,598 (1 July 2022). As of 1 July 2022, ...

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 Samuelston (Scots language, Scots: ''Sammelstoun'') is a small town just outside of Haddington, East Lothian. It has a population of 957. George Ker, laird of Samuelston, supervised building work at the church of Ladykirk, Scottish Borders, Lady ...

, 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 Bagby is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England, south-east of Thirsk. The parish had a population of 470 according to the 2001 census and a population of 593 at the 2011 Census. The parish shares a grouped pari ...

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 A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican Comm ...

at Haddington by its founder, Queen Ada, wife of Henry, King of Scots, and mother to

Malcolm IV Malcolm IV (; ), nicknamed Virgo, "the Maiden" (between 23 April and 24 May 1141 – 9 December 1165) was King of Scotland from 1153 until his death. He was the eldest son of Henry of Scotland, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon, Henry, Earl of Huntingdon ...

and

William I William I may refer to: Kings * William the Conqueror (–1087), also known as William I, King of England * William I of Sicily (died 1166) * William I of Scotland (died 1214), known as William the Lion * William I of the Netherlands and Luxembour ...

, 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 Humbie is a hamlet and rural parish in East Lothian, Scotland lying in south-east of the county, approximately south-west of Haddington and south-east of Edinburgh. Humbie as it is known today was formed as the result of the union between Kei ...

, Pogbie and Blegbie. Notable people and characters with the surname include: *

Alfred William Begbie Alfred William Begbie (1801–1873) was a British civil servant in India. Biography Alfred William Begbie was born in 1801 at Hendon, Middlesex England. His parents were Peter Begbie & Frances (Jones) Begbie. He was nominated to East India Com ...

, British civil servant in India * Denis Begbie (1914–2009), South African cricketer *

Harold Begbie Edward Harold Begbie (1871 – 8 October 1929), was an English journalist and the author of nearly 50 books and poems. Besides studies of the Christian religion, he wrote numerous other books, including political satire, comedy, fiction, scienc ...

(1871–1929), English author and journalist *

Isaac Begbie Isaac Begbie (4 June 1868 – 30 September 1958) was a Scottish footballer who played for Heart of Midlothian, Leith Athletic, Bathgate, Falkirk and the Scotland national team. Born in Edinburgh, Begbie made his name with local club Hearts wh ...

(born 1868), Scottish footballer * James Begbie (1798–1869), British medical doctor *

James Warburton Begbie James Warburton Begbie (19 November 1826 – 25 February 1876), was a Scottish physician. Biography He was born on 19 November 1826, and was the second son of Dr James Begbie, The family lived at 18 Albany Street in New Town, Edinburgh, Edi ...

(1826–1876), British medical doctor *

Jeremy Begbie Jeremy Sutherland Begbie, DD, BA, BD, PhD, LRAM, ARCM, FRSCM, is Thomas A. Langford Distinguished Research Professor of Theology at Duke Divinity School, Duke University, where he is the McDonald Agape Director oDuke Initiatives in Theology and th ...

, 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 Sir Matthew Baillie Begbie (9 May 1819 – 11 June 1894) was a British lawyer, politician, and judge. In 1858, Begbie became the first Chief Justice of the Crown Colony of British Columbia in colonial times and in the first decades after Br ...

(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 Trainspotting may refer to: * Trainspotting (hobby), an amateur interest in railways/railroads * ''Trainspotting'' (novel), a 1993 novel by Irvine Welsh ** ''Trainspotting'' (film), a 1996 film based on the novel *** ''Trainspotting'' (soundt ...

'', its prequel ''

Skagboys ''Skagboys'' is a 2012 Novel in Scotland, novel by Scottish writer Irvine Welsh. It is a prequel to his 1993 novel ''Trainspotting (novel), Trainspotting'', and its 2002 sequel ''Porno (novel), Porno''. It follows the earlier lives of characters ...

'' and sequels '' Porno'' and ''

The Blade Artist The Blade Artist is a 2016 novel by Scottish writer Irvine Welsh. The story follows on from Welsh's previous novels, '' Trainspotting'' and '' Porno'', catching up with Begbie's past and present. Synopsis Begbie, a violent thug and principal ant ...

'', as well as the 1996 film adaptation of ''Trainspotting'' and its 2017 sequel

References

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See also

References