Baig, also commonly spelled Bayg, Beigh, Beg, Bek, Bey, Baeg or Begh ( Persian: بیگ, ''Beig'',

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

: '' Bey''), was a

Turkic Turkic may refer to: * anything related to the country of Turkey * Turkic languages, a language family of at least thirty-five documented languages ** Turkic alphabets (disambiguation) ** Turkish language, the most widely spoken Turkic language * ...

title which is today used as a name to identify lineage. It means ''Chief'' or ''Commander'' and is an honorific title. It is common in Turkey, Iran, the Caucasus, Central Asia, South Asia and Southeast Europe and among their respective diaspora.

Etymology

The origin of ''beg'' is still disputed, though it is mostly agreed that it is a

loan-word. Two principal etymologies have been proposed. The first etymology is from a Middle Iranian form of Old Iranian '' baga''; though the meaning would fit since the Middle Persian forms of the word often mean "lord", used for the king or others. The second etymology is from

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

''po'' "eldest (brother), (feudal) lord". Gerhard Doerfer seriously considers the possibility that the word is genuinely

. Whatever the truth may be, there is no connection with

''berk'', Mongolian ''berke'' "strong" or Turkish ''bögü'', Mongolian ''böge'' "wizard, "shaman". Baig and Beg was also subsequently used as a military rank in the Ottoman Empire. It was also used by the Uyghurs, it permitted the

Begs in the

Altishahr Altishahr (, , ; romanized: ''Altä-şähär'' or ''Alti-şähär''), also known as Kashgaria, is a historical name for the Tarim Basin region used in the 18th and 19th centuries. The term means 'Six Cities' in Turkic languages, referring to oasis ...

region to maintain their previous status, and they administered the area for the

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

as officials. High-ranking Begs were allowed to call themselves Begs.

Use as a name

For the Persian use, it is common to see the name Beg added to the Persian suffix of ' zada' (male), 'zadi' (female), which means 'son of' or 'daughter of'. For Example: Sohaib Begzada or Hira Begzadi. For the

use, it is most common to see the spelling Beg or Bey utilized. (Sometimes, it is used along with the title "Mirza", similar to the Mughal usage).. For the Mughal and Timurid dynasty use, the honorific title

Mirza Mirza may refer to: * Mirza, Kamrup, town in Assam, India * Mirza (name), historical royal title & noble * ''Mirza'', the genus of giant mouse lemur * "Mirza", song by Nino Ferrer * ''Mirza – The Untold Story'', Punjabi action romance film wri ...

( fa, مرزا) was added before the given name for all the males and 'Baig' ( fa, بیگ) for the males or Begum ( fa, بگوم) for the females, was added as a

family name In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

. For example: Mirza Sohaib Baig or Hira Begum. This was the historical naming convention for the descendants of the Mughal and Timurid dynasties, Today, however, it is common to see descendants of the Mughals and Timurids use Baig as a middle name and Mirza as the surname or vice versa. For example: Abdullah Baig Mirza or Abdullah Mirza Baig. For the Slavic or

Bosniak The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry, cu ...

use, it is common to see the name Beg added to the Slavic suffix of 'ović', 'ovich', which roughly means 'descendant of'. While the title "Beg" is not in use in Bosnia anymore, track of families of "Beg" descent is kept. But a surname containing "-begović" suffix in itself is not a clear indicator of descent. For example, there is a number of "Begović" families, some are of noble descent, some not. "Idrizbegović" would be another example of a non-noble family with the suffix. Some examples of "beg" families are: Šahbegović, Rizvanbegović, Šačirbegović. On the other hand, "Kukavica" is an example of a famous "beg" family, not containing the title in itself. The book by Enver Imamović "Porijeklo i pripadnost stanovništva Bosne i Hercegovine" details the origin of a big number of families in Bosnia and Herzegovina. There are various other alternative spellings used today as well, such as: ''Begh'', ''Begg'', ''Beigh'', ''Beyg'', ''Bayg'', ''Bek'', ''Bik''.

Notable Beighs/Begs/Beghs/Beys/Baigs

Afghanistan * Sultan Abu Sa'id Beg * Mohammad Murad Beg, Emir of Bokhara *

Mir Yar Beg Mir Yar Beg was a ruler within Badakhshan, who in the early 19th century was defeated by the Khan of Kunduz, Mir Muhammad Murad Beg Mir Mohammad Murad Beg (1780-1840s) was ''Khan'' of Kunduz (modern Afghanistan) in the 19th century. Earlier in t ...

and

Mir Yar Beg Sahibzada Mir Yar Beg Sahibzada was a Central Asian ruler who, in 1651 became chief of the Tajiks, Tajik tribes in Yaftal, as they had invited him to come to them from Samarkand. However, two years later his dissatisfied subjects rebelled against him, built ...

, Emir of Bokhara Albania * Skanderbeg, Dominus Albaniae (lord of Albania) Azerbaijan * Mirza Adigozal Bey, was an Azerbaijani historian of the 19th century. * Mirza Miran Shah Beg, was a son of Mirza Timur Beg, and a

Timurid Timurid refers to those descended from Timur (Tamerlane), a 14th-century conqueror: * Timurid dynasty, a dynasty of Turco-Mongol lineage descended from Timur who established empires in Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent ** Timurid Empire of C ...

governor during his father's lifetime. * Elbey Mirza-Hasan oglu Rzaguliyev, was an Azerbaijani Soviet artist and stage director, and father of artist Ayten Rzaguliyeva. Bangladesh * Mirza Agha Muhammad Reza Baig - Iranian Shia Muslim immigrant living in the Sylhet region of Bengal. Claimed to be the Mahdi and twelfth imam, engaged in battles against the East India Company and Kachari Kingdom. *

Isfandiyar Beg Isfandiyār Khān Bēg ( fa, , bn, ইসপেন্দিয়ার খান বেগ), was the Mughal faujdar of Sylhet Sarkar from 1663 to 1665. Early life Isfandiyar's father was Mirza Allah Yar Khan (also spelt Ilahyar, Allahyar ...

- Mughal faujdar of Sylhet Bosnia * Alija Izetbegović * Bakir Izetbegović *

Asmir Begović Asmir Begović (; born 20 June 1987) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Everton. Begović started his professional career with English club Portsmouth, signing for them in the summer of 2003. After a sequen ...

* Denis Omerbegović * Elvir Omerbegovic *

Mirza Begić Mirza Begić (born 9 July 1985) is a retired Bosnian-born Slovenian professional basketball player. The Center (basketball), center, he represented the Slovenia national basketball team, Slovenian national team in the international competitions. ...

* Senad Begić * Elvedin Begić * Aida Begić * Silvije Begić * Isa-Beg Isaković *

Isak-Beg Ishak Bey or Ishak-Beg or Ishak-Beg Hranić was an Ottoman governor and soldier, the sanjakbey of Üsküb from 1415 to 1439. Biography According to some sources he was a member of the Bosnian Hranušić family, released slave and adopted son ...

Gazi Husrev-beg Gazi Husrev-beg ( ota, غازى خسرو بك, ''Gāzī Ḫusrev Beğ''; Modern Turkish: ''Gazi Hüsrev Bey''; 1480–1541) was an Ottoman Bosnian sanjak-bey (governor) of the Sanjak of Bosnia in 1521–1525, 1526–1534, and 1536–1541. He w ...

* Ali-paša Rizvanbegović * Safvet beg Bašagić * Turahan Bey *

Turahanoğlu Ömer Bey Turahanoğlu Ömer Bey ( gr, Ὀμάρης or Ἀμάρης; 1435–1484) was an Ottoman general and governor. The son of the famed Turahan Bey, he was active chiefly in southern Greece: he fought in the Morea against both the Byzantines in the ...

Central Asia *

Shadi Beg Shādī Beg was Khan of the Golden Horde from 1399 to 1407. He was the protégé of the all-powerful beglerbeg Edigu. Ancestry According to the ''Muʿizz al-ansāb'' and the ''Tawārīḫ-i guzīdah-i nuṣrat-nāmah'', Shādī Beg was a son of ...

* Jani Beg *

Timur-Malik Temür Malik, also spelled Timur-Malik, the son of Urus Khan, was the ninth Khan of the White Horde. Early during his reign, he successfully invaded the lands of his cousin Toqtamysh. However, Toqtamysh later managed to trap and kill Timur-Mali ...

* Temür Qutlugh India *

Abbas Ali Baig Abbas Ali Baig (born 19 March 1939) is an Indian former cricketer who played in 10 Tests between 1959 and 1967. In a career spanning 21 years, he scored 12,367 runs in first-class cricket at an average of 34.16. He coached the Indian cricket ...

, Indian Test cricketer * Aghajan Baig, Indian comic actor *

Mahmud Begada Sultan Mahmud Begada or Mahmud Shah I (), was the most prominent Sultan of the Gujarat Sultanate. Raised to the throne at young age, he successfully captured Pavagadh and Junagadh forts in battles which gave him his name ''Begada''. He establishe ...

, Sultan of Gujarat * Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan *''Mirza'' Babur Beg, the first Mughal emperor * Mirza Muhammad Akbar Beg, He was the third and one of the greatest rulers of the Mughal Dynasty in India. * Mirza Abul-Qasim Babur bin Baysonqor Beg, was a

ruler in Khurasan (1449–1457). *

Mirza Mehboob Beg Mirza Mehboob Beg (born 4 September 1949) is a veteran Indian politician from Jammu and Kashmir, belonging to the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) and currently serving as its General Secretary(Organisation). Beg has been elected to the Jammu ...

, is an Indian politician belonging to

Jammu & Kashmir National Conference The Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) is a regional political party in the Indian union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Founded as the ''All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference'' by Sheikh Abdullah and Chaudhry Ghulam A ...

.He was elected to the

15th Lok Sabha Members of the 15th Lok Sabha were elected during the 2009 general election in India. It was dissolved on 18 May 2014 by President Pranab Mukherjee. Indian National Congress-led United Progressive Alliance won 44 more seats than the previou ...

from Anantnag. * Mirza Farhatullah Baig, was an Indian Urdu writer of humor and prose. * Mirza Ibrahim Beg, was Subahdar of Bengal during the reign of emperor Jahangir Beg. *

Wali Beg Zul-Qadr Hussain Quli Beg ( fa, ) was a Mughal military vassall (mansabdar) with the rank of 5000 soldiers. He was later entitled as Khān-i-Jahān ( fa, ; Khan of the World) by Emperor Akbar. Early life Beg was the son of Wali Beg Zul-Qadr and the ne ...

, Soldier under Akbar ''Mirza'' Mughal Emperor. * Tardi Beg, was a military commander in the 16th century in

Mughal India The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

. * Mirza Afzal Beg was the first Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. He was the founder of

All Jammu and Kashmir Plebiscite Front The All Jammu and Kashmir Plebiscite Front, or Plebiscite Front, was a political party in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir that called for a " popular plebiscite" to decide if the state should remain part of India, join Pakistan or become ...

. Iran * Ulugh Beg * Sultan Ibrahim ''Beg'' *

Otar Beg Otar Beg, also known as Otar Khan, later known as Zu al-Faqār Khan (born circa. 1583, – died 1662/63), was a Safavid military commander, royal ''gholam'', and official from the Georgian Baratashvili- Orbelishvili (Orbeliani) clan. Biography Not ...

* Nader Qoli Beyg Kashgar * Yaqub Beg Pakistan *

Mirza Athar Baig Mirza Athar Baig is a Pakistani novelist, playwright and short story writer. He was born in Sharaqpur, Punjab. Both his parents were schoolteachers and encouraged him to read widely from a young age. He is currently associated with the Department ...

, author *General

Mirza Aslam Baig General Mirza Aslam Beg ( ur, ; born 2 August 1931), also known as M. A. Beg, was a Pakistan Army officer, who served as the 3rd Chief of Army Staff from 1988 until his retirement in 1991. His appointment as chief of army staff came when hi ...

, retired Chief of Army Staff (Pakistan) *

Adina Beg Adina Mirza Beg Khan ( pa, ; 1710 - 15 September 1758) was a Punjabi General and administrator who served as the last governor of Punjab of the Mughal Empire, including the provinces of Lahore and Multan. He was the last Nawab of Punjab, de fa ...

, was the governor of the Punjab including Lahore, Jalandhar and Multan from 1755 to 1758. *

Idrees Baig Mirza Idrees Baig (1911 – 30 July 1986) (also spelled Idris, Beg and Begh) was a Pakistani cricket umpire. He stood in nine Test matches between 1955 and 1969. Playing career Idrees Baig played seven first-class matches for Delhi in the ...

, Test cricket umpire *

Mirza Aziz Akbar Baig Mirza Aziz Akbar Baig (Urdu: مرزا عزيز اكبر بیگ) was born on 6 November 1938 in Multan, Pakistan. He is a lawyer of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. He is the cousin of Late Member of Provincial Assembly Khalil Ullah Labar, Malik fro ...

Mirza Iqbal Baig Mirza Iqbal Baig (Urdu:) is a Pakistani sports journalist, analyst, and cricket commentator who currently works as a television show host. Baig comes from Karachi and is a notable resident of the Model Colony. He has served in various capacities ...

is a sports journalist and cricket commentator who currently works as a television show host. * Mirza Nazeer Baig Mughal is an actor. He has acted in several films, telefilms, and TV drama serials. *Brigadier

Mohammad Abbas Baig Brigadier Mohammad Abbas Baig (Urdu: برگیڈیر جنرل محمد عباس بیگ; September 1917 – 19 April 2008) was a Pakistan Army one-star general, one-star officer. He was one of the pioneering military officers of the Pakistan Army ...

, a Pakistan Army one-star officer, dubbed "Baba-e-Artillery" (father of the Artillery) for his role in establishing artillery in the Pakistani army. He was also a wealthy landlord in Muzaffargarh *

Naeem Baig Naeem Baig ( ur, ) (born 1952) is a Pakistani short story writer. He has written short stories (afsanas) in Urdu Urdu (;"U ...

is a novelist and short-story writer, who has written articles, short stories, and novels in Urdu and English. *

Obaidullah Baig Obaidullah Baig (1 October 1936 – 22 June 2012) ( ur, عبيدالله بيگ) was a scholar, Urdu writer/novelist, columnist, media expert and documentary filmmaker from Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Personal life Born in Rampur, India in ...

was a scholar, Urdu writer/novelist, columnist, media expert, and most notably a documentary filmmaker from Karachi. *

Rabiah Jamil Beg Rabiah Jamil Beg is a correspondent and producer for the Pakistani television network Geo. She has been the pioneer member of the Voice of America's Urdu Magazine show "Khabron Sey Agey" aired from Washington DC to report on Pakistani diaspora ...

journalist * Mirza Rafiuddin 'Raz' Baig is a poet. *

Diana Baig Diana Baig (born 15 October 1995) is a Pakistani cricketer and footballer. In cricket, she plays primarily as a right-arm medium-fast bowler. Baig was included in Pakistan squad for the 2013 Women's Cricket World Cup and 2016 ICC Women's World ...

international cricket and football player from Gilgit Baltistan *

Samina Baig Samina may refer to: * MS Express Samina MS ''Express Samina'' ( el, Εξπρές Σάμινα) was a French-built RoPax ferry that struck the charted Portes Islets rocks in the Bay of Parikia off the coast of Paros island in the central Aegea ...

only Pakistani woman to climb Mount Everest Poland * Naiman-Beg Russia * Mirza Kazem-Bey, Muhammad Ali Kazim-bey, was a famous orientalist, historian, and philologist of Azeri and Iranian origin. *

Alexander Lvovich Kazembek Alexander Lvovich Kazembek (russian: Алекса́ндр Льво́вич Казембе́к, or ; french: Alexandre Kasem-Beg; – 21 February 1977), often spelled Kazem-Bek or Kasem-Beg, was a Russian émigré and political activist, a ...

(often spelled Kazem-Bek or Kasem-Beg), was a Russian émigré and political activist, and founder of the Mladorossi political group. * Iskander Mirza Huzman Beg Sulkiewicz, was a Polish politician of Tatar ethnicity, activist in socialist and independence movements and one of the co-founders of Polish Socialist Party. Sri Lanka *

Mohideen Baig Kala Suri Alhaj Kareem Mohideen Baig ( si, මොහිදින් බෙග්, ar, محي الدين بيك; 5 December 1919 – 4 November 1991), popularly as Mohideen Baig, was a Sri Lankan musician. One of the most influential singers in ...

, was a popular Sri Lankan musician. Turkey * Sultan Osman-bey,

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

of the Ottoman Empire * Mirza Tugay Bey, was a notable military leader and politician of the Crimean Tatars. United Kingdom * Moazzam Begg, activist United States *

Ed Baig Edward C. Baig is an American technology columnist. He is the Personal Tech writer for ''USA Today'' where he reviews the newest gadgets and consumer technology trends. Baig is also responsible for writing on the future of robotics. Education Ba ...

, technology columnist *

Minhal Baig Minhal Baig is an American director, producer, and writer from Chicago, Illinois. She has written and directed two films, ''1 Night'' and '' Hala'', and written for the television shows '' Ramy'' and ''Bojack Horseman''. Early life Minhal Baig ...

, director

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

* {{surname, Baig Turkic culture Turkish titles Indian surnames Pakistani names Titles in Pakistan Titles in India Qing dynasty Royal titles Titles Noble titles Ottoman titles Military ranks Positions of subnational authority Titles of national or ethnic leadership Noble titles of Egypt Mughal nobility