Question:
Why is the name 'Peggy' short for the name of 'Margaret'?
Wafflebox
2006-08-18 05:28:37 UTC
Why is the name 'Peggy' short for the name of 'Margaret'?
21 answers:
nickyd44
2006-08-18 05:35:32 UTC
yep



A short way to explain is by the following poem:



In search from A to Z they passed,

And "Marguerita" chose at last;

But thought it sound far more sweet

To call the baby "Marguerite."

When grandma saw the little pet,

She called her "darling Margaret."

Next uncle Jack and cousin Aggie

Sent cup and spoon to "little Maggie."

And grandpapa the right must beg

To call the lassie "bonnie Meg."

From "Marguerita" down to "Meg,"

And now she's simply "little Peg."



I also found this .......



A: “Margaret” has spawned a bewildering variety of nicknames, from “Margot” to “Daisy.”



The name itself is a variant of the obsolete word “margarite,” meaning “pearl” or “precious stone.” It is apparently of ancient Asian origin, filtered through Greek, Latin, Teutonic and Old French.



It became a very popular given name in medieval England and Scotland, where it was conventionally taken to mean “pearl.”



Since “Margaret” is quite a mouthful, nicknames soon spun off from it. Perhaps the strangest is “Daisy.” It’s a pun dating to a time when “margaret” was also an English slang term for the ox-eye daisy. It became an independent first name during the 1900s fad for flower-based names.



More common were such shortenings and diminutions as “Maggie,” “Meggie” and “Meg.” Some etymologists say that the diminutive “Maggie” form came first, with “Meg” following as a shortened form; others say the shortened form “Meg” came first, with “Maggie” and “Meggie” following as diminutive forms. Nobody really knows.



What we do know is that “Peg” is an altered form of “Meg,” and “Peggy” is an altered form of “Meggie.”



“Meggie” and “Meg” were distinctively Scottish nicknames, so “Peg” and “Peggy” probably were, too.



But no one knows why the “M” was changed to a “P.” (A theory about Celtic-language influence has proven fruitless.) They are similar consonant sounds; maybe the change was inspired by a nonsense-rhyme nickname like “Meggy-Peggy.”



Interestingly, the same morphology can be seen in nicknames for “Mary.” “Molly” is a pet form of “Mary”; “Polly” is a variant form of “Molly,” with the “M” also mysteriously changed to a “P.”



It’s unusual for a nickname to become an independent first name by itself. But “Peg” and “Peggy” have done so (apparently first occurring in the U.S.), no doubt aided by their lack of clear connection to “Margaret.”
?
2016-12-11 12:10:28 UTC
Margaret Nicknames
israr
2016-10-03 14:14:45 UTC
What Is Peggy Short For
brian
2015-03-21 14:09:41 UTC
most ladies in the early 1900 s who sold clothes pegs round the doors where called Margaret hence the name peggy
silverbass1314
2006-08-18 05:35:32 UTC
I don't know but would also like to find out. i remember a lot of older margarets being called Peggy but never knew why. I have even seen Margaret (Peggy) written on gravestones. I'll check back later to see if you've got any answers
Wanda
2016-01-23 07:29:20 UTC
peggy short margaret
calamity
2006-08-18 05:33:37 UTC
Cos Meg (Meggy) is the diminuitive of Margaret, and Peg (Peggy) was also used.
monkeyface
2006-08-18 05:37:05 UTC
Probably a derivation of the shortened name Meg.

Incidentally, answerer Barbara R, there is a short name for George. A few I know are known as Dod (maybe this is only in Scotland).
Laurie V
2006-08-18 06:10:02 UTC
I think that some of the name variations might have resulted from people naming their children after themselves... Thus, the father, William, was called Will and his son, William Jr., was called Bill for short. Women were also named after their mothers in our recent past.



William=Will (the father)=Bill (the son)

Richard=Rick=Dick

Robert=Rob=Bob

Edward=Ed=Ted

Elizabeth=Lizzie (the mother)=Libby (the daughter)



At least, this is what I have observed researching my family's genealogy.
Owlwings
2006-08-18 06:01:53 UTC
It's actually from the Gaelic Peigi, which I think arose from using Meg as a contraction for Margaret. Gaelic has this odd thing called mutation that goes on with initial letters, especially in the feminine, so that they change their sounds according to case. I can't see that that alone is the reason for M changing to P, but they are both labial consonants (that is, formed with the lips) and so are related (at least to a Scots or Irish speaker).



I haven't researched it as fully as I would have wished (and I don't speak Gaelic) but I am wondering if 'Meg' sounded like another word with bad associations, so it became 'Peg'.



The Gaelic/Celtic name Meg is actually much older than Christianity and is not related to the Greek name 'Margarita' which means 'pearl'. In placenames one sometimes encounters a change from a name derived from a Celtic god, originally 'Meg-' or 'Mag-', to St. Margaret. There is a hill near here called, on the map, St Margaret's Mount but locally known as Meg's Mount. We also have the Gog Magog Hills with a large Iron Age (Celtic) ring fort on it. The name probably just means 'Mother Goddess'.
Denim
2006-08-18 10:30:03 UTC
Not always. I have a friend name Margaret yet everyone in school calls her ' Maggie ' .
Think.for.your.self
2006-08-18 06:47:35 UTC
You learn something every day! I had no idea about this!



I thought my own name, William, was the worse because I sometimes I must still fight to be called "Bill". I could be either: bill, billy, william, will or willy. Plus liam is a spin off of my name. I had an issue with my credit report being crossed with someone elses (It happens more often than you might think.) It took me MONTHS to finally get straightened out. Anyway, anything official I make darn sure is signed william. But one on one I am always bill.



Some names with a lot of spin offs are Franciso for guys or Francesca for women.



could be Frank, cisco, paco, paca, francis and there about 10 more.
Polly
2006-08-18 05:38:20 UTC
My sisters name is Margret but she has almost always been Peggy just like my name is really Paula but Ive always been called Polly....
anonymous
2006-08-18 05:34:52 UTC
Why is the name Dick short for Richard?
anonymous
2006-08-18 05:35:49 UTC
It began when someone said; "Margaret, you're the peg of me heart!" And it stuck.
anonymous
2006-08-18 05:34:56 UTC
I wasn't aware of that, I thought it was short for Elizabeth, so I learnt something new today, thanks, good question!
jlb
2006-08-20 08:26:39 UTC
yes I think so
anonymous
2016-03-27 02:57:56 UTC
For the best answers, search on this site https://shorturl.im/iWK9D



"Magie", "Mag"," Meg" ,"Peggy","GiGi", "Greti", "Margi","Margie","Greta","Gerti","Gretta...
LUCIFER
2006-08-18 05:42:21 UTC
Why is Ted short for Edward?

...........Hank short for Henry?

...........Dick short for Richard?

...........Jim short for James?

...........Bill short for William?

It's odd I agree, but it probably originated waaaayy back in the day when names were being changed or assigned regularly.
Barbara
2006-08-18 05:36:32 UTC
Why is "Dick" short for Richard? Why is "Bob" short for Robert? Why is Libby short for Elizabeth? Why is there no short nickname for "George"? Some of the unknown mysteries of life, I assume...
anonymous
2006-08-18 05:35:24 UTC
because thats how life is sometimes.


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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