Page
PAYJ
A pet-form of Margaret that became a surname and, occasionally, a given name.
Meaning
In the 19th-century naming books, Page appears as a pet-name of Margaret, alongside Madge, Meg, Peg, and Peggy. The ultimate root of Margaret is Greek and means “pearl,” so Page inherits that meaning through the nickname chain rather than directly. The excerpts also show that spelling forms could shift in pet-names and surnames over time.
Origin
EnglishGreekfeminine
Fun fact
One excerpt lists Page among the nicknames for Margaret, which helps explain why it can look unrelated to its source name at first glance.
Confidence: mixed. Sources: Praenomina; or, the etymology of the principal Christian names of Great Britain and Ireland.