Baig, also commonly spelled Bayg, Beigh, Beg, Bek,

Bey Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...

, Baeg or Begh (

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: بیگ, ''Beig'', Turkish: ''

''), was a Turkic title which is today used as a name to identify lineage. It means ''Chief'' or ''Commander'' and is an

honorific An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an honorary academic title. It ...

title. It is common in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...

and

Southeast Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (a ...

and among their respective diaspora.

Etymology

The origin of ''beg'' is still disputed, though it is mostly agreed that it is a Turkic loan-word. Two principal etymologies have been proposed. The first etymology is from a

Middle Iranian The Iranian languages or Iranic languages are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian Plateau. The Iranian languages are groupe ...

form of

Old Iranian The Iranian languages or Iranic languages are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian Plateau. The Iranian languages are grouped ...

'' baga''; though the meaning would fit since the

Middle Persian Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle ...

forms of the word often mean "lord", used for the king or others. The second etymology is from Chinese ''po'' "eldest (brother), (feudal) lord".

Gerhard Doerfer Gerhard Doerfer (8 March 1920 – 27 December 2003) was a German Turkologist, Altaicist, and philologist best known for his studies of the Turkic languages, especially Khalaj. Biography Doerfer was born on March 8, 1920 in Königsberg (prese ...

seriously considers the possibility that the word is genuinely Turkic. Whatever the truth may be, there is no connection with Turkish ''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 The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. It was also used by the

Uyghurs The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghur ...

, it permitted the Turkic Begs in the Altishahr region to maintain their previous status, and they administered the area for the Qing as officials. High-ranking Begs were allowed to call themselves Begs.

Use as a name

For the

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 Turkish 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 ( fa, مرزا) was added before the given name for all the males and 'Baig' ( fa, بیگ) for the males or

Begum Begum (also begüm, bagum, begom, begam, baigum or beygum) is a royal and aristocratic title from Central and South Asia. It is the feminine equivalent of the title ''baig'' or '' bey'', which in Turkic languages means "higher official". It us ...

( fa, بگوم) for the females, was added as a family 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 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 Mir Mohammad Murad Beg (1780-1840s) was ''Khan'' of Kunduz (modern Afghanistan) in the 19th century. Earlier in the 19th century, he defeated Mir Yar Beg to take control of Badakhshan, and extended his rule north of the Oxus river The Amu Dary ...

Emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...

Bokhara Bukhara ( Uzbek: /, ; tg, Бухоро, ) is the seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 280,187 , and the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and the city h ...

* Mir Yar Beg and Mir Yar Beg Sahibzada,

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 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 Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

Shia Muslim Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...

immigrant living in the

Sylhet region The 1947 Sylhet referendum was held in the Sylhet District of the Assam Province of British India to decide whether the district would remain in Undivided Assam and therefore within the post-independence Dominion of India, or leave Assam for E ...

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

. Claimed to be the

Mahdi The Mahdi ( ar, ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, al-Mahdī, lit=the Guided) is a messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad w ...

and twelfth imam, engaged in battles against the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

and

Kachari Kingdom The Dimasa Kingdom (also Kachari kingdom) was a late medieval/early modern kingdom in Assam, Northeast India ruled by Dimasa kings. The Dimasa kingdom and others (Kamata, Chutiya) that developed in the wake of the Kamarupa kingdom were exam ...

. * Isfandiyar Beg - Mughal faujdar of Sylhet Bosnia *

Alija Izetbegović Alija Izetbegović (; ; 8 August 1925 – 19 October 2003) was a Bosnian politician, lawyer, Islamic philosopher and author, who in 1992 became the first president of the Presidency of the newly independent Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovin ...

Bakir Izetbegović Bakir Izetbegović (; born 28 June 1956) is a Bosnian politician who served as the 6th Bosniak member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2010 to 2018. He is the current president of the Party of Democratic Action and member of the ...

* Asmir Begović * Denis Omerbegović * Elvir Omerbegovic * Mirza Begić * Senad Begić *

Elvedin Begić Elvedin Begić (born 24 October 1960) is a Bosnian football official who was president of the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina (N/FSBiH) from 2012 to 2021. He had previously been a member of the N/FSBiH normalization committee establ ...

Aida Begić Aida Begić (born 9 May 1976) is a Bosnian film director and screenwriter. Education and career She graduated in Film and Theater Directing from the Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo in 2000. Her graduation film "The First Death Experience ...

* Silvije Begić * Isa-Beg Isaković * Isak-Beg * Gazi Husrev-beg * Ali-paša Rizvanbegović * Safvet beg Bašagić *

Turahan Bey Turahan Bey or Turakhan Beg ( tr, Turahan Bey/Beğ; sq, Turhan Bej; el, Τουραχάνης, Τουραχάν μπέης or Τουραχάμπεης;PLP 29165 died in 1456) was a prominent Ottoman military commander and governor of Thessaly ...

* Turahanoğlu Ömer Bey Central Asia * Shadi Beg *

Jani Beg Jani Beg ( fa, , tt-Latn, Canibäk), also known as Djanibek Khan, was a Khan of the Golden Horde from 1342 to 1357, succeeding his father Öz Beg Khan. Reign With the support of his mother Taydula Khatun, Jani Beg made himself khan after eli ...

* Timur-Malik *

Temür Qutlugh Temür Qutlugh or Tīmūr Qutluq ( 1370 – 1399) was a Khan of Golden Horde in 1397–1399. Ancestry According to the detailed genealogies of the ''Muʿizz al-ansāb'' and the ''Tawārīḫ-i guzīdah-i nuṣrat-nāmah'', Tīmūr Qutluq was th ...

India * Abbas Ali Baig, Indian Test cricketer * Aghajan Baig, Indian comic actor * Mahmud Begada, 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 Timurid ruler in Khurasan (1449–1457). * Mirza Mehboob Beg, is an Indian politician belonging to Jammu & Kashmir National Conference.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

during the reign of emperor Jahangir Beg. * Wali Beg Zul-Qadr, Soldier under Akbar ''Mirza''

Mughal Emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...

. *

Tardi Beg Tardi Beg was a military commander in the 16th century in Mughal Empire. He served under the Mughal Emperors Humayun and Akbar. Beg was part of Humayun's forces when they retreated from India after the siege by Sher Shah Suri, Sher Shah. He remaine ...

, was a military commander in the 16th century in Mughal India. *

Mirza Afzal Beg Mirza Mohammad Afzal Beg (1908–1982) was a Kashmiri politician belonging to the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference. He served as a minister in the pre-independence period in the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, and as the revenue minist ...

was the first

Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir The Deputy Chief Minister of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir was a position that existed within the cabinet of Jammu and Kashmir, an Indian state between 1954 and 2019. The state was reconstituted by the government of India as the union ter ...

. He was the founder of All Jammu and Kashmir Plebiscite Front. Iran *

Ulugh Beg Mīrzā Muhammad Tāraghay bin Shāhrukh ( chg, میرزا محمد طارق بن شاہ رخ, fa, میرزا محمد تراغای بن شاہ رخ), better known as Ulugh Beg () (22 March 1394 – 27 October 1449), was a Timurid sultan, as ...

* Sultan Ibrahim ''Beg'' * Otar Beg * Nader Qoli Beyg Kashgar *

Yaqub Beg Muhammad Yaqub Bek (محمد یعقوب بیگ; uz, Яъқуб-бек, ''Ya’qub-bek''; ; 182030 May 1877) was a Khoqandi ruler of Yettishar (Kashgaria) during his invasion of Xinjiang from 1865 to 1877. He held the title of Atalik Ghazi (" ...

Pakistan * Mirza Athar Baig, author *General Mirza Aslam Baig, retired Chief of Army Staff (Pakistan) * Adina Beg, was the governor of the

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

including

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

Jalandhar Jalandhar is the third most-populous city in the Indian state of Punjab and the largest city in Doaba region. Jalandhar lies alongside the Grand Trunk Road and is a well-connected rail and road junction. Jalandhar is northwest of the state ...

and

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the old ...

from 1755 to 1758. * Idrees Baig, Test cricket umpire * Mirza Aslam Baig * Mirza Aziz Akbar Baig *

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, 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 is a novelist and short-story writer, who has written articles, short stories, and novels in Urdu and English. * Obaidullah Baig was a scholar, Urdu writer/novelist, columnist, media expert, and most notably a documentary filmmaker from Karachi. * Rabiah Jamil Beg journalist * Mirza Rafiuddin 'Raz' Baig is a poet. * Diana Baig international cricket and football player from Gilgit Baltistan * Samina Baig only Pakistani woman to climb Mount Everest Poland *

Naiman-Beg {{no footnotes, date=December 2012 Naiman-Beg (in Polish: Najman Beg or Najman-beg), Tatar prince (" beg" also "knyaz"), ancestor of many Lipka Tatar families. It is not known what was his real name - the expression "Naiman Beg" is not a name bu ...

Russia * Mirza Kazem-Bey, Muhammad Ali Kazim-bey, was a famous orientalist, historian, and philologist of Azeri and Iranian origin. * Alexander Lvovich Kazembek (often spelled Kazem-Bek or Kasem-Beg), was a Russian émigré and political activist, and founder of the

Mladorossi The Union of Mladorossi (russian: Союз Младороссов, ''Soyuz Mladorossov'') was a political group of Russian émigré monarchists (mostly living in Europe) who advocated a hybrid of Russian monarchy and the Soviet system, best evide ...

political group. * Iskander Mirza Huzman Beg Sulkiewicz, was a Polish politician of

Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

ethnicity, activist in socialist and independence movements and one of the co-founders of

Polish Socialist Party The Polish Socialist Party ( pl, Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, PPS) is a socialist political party in Poland. It was one of the most important parties in Poland from its inception in 1892 until its merger with the communist Polish Workers' ...

. Sri Lanka * Mohideen Baig, was a popular Sri Lankan musician. Turkey * Sultan Osman-bey, Sultan of the

* Mirza Tugay Bey, was a notable military leader and politician of the

Crimean Tatars , flag = Flag of the Crimean Tatar people.svg , flag_caption = Flag of Crimean Tatars , image = Love, Peace, Traditions.jpg , caption = Crimean Tatars in traditional clothing in front of the Khan's Palace ...

. United Kingdom *

Moazzam Begg Moazzam Begg ( ur, ; born 5 July 1968 in Sparkhill, Birmingham) is a British Pakistani who was held in extrajudicial detention by the US government in the Bagram Theater Internment Facility and the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp, in Cuba, ...

, activist United States * Ed Baig, technology columnist * 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