Begley
An Irish surname most likely from Ó Beigléigh or a related Gaelic form, often interpreted as “descendant of the little scholar” or a similar nickname-based name.
The #4,200 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 36,603 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Begley is an Irish surname, usually treated as the Anglicized form of a Gaelic family name beginning with Ó, meaning “descendant of.” The second element is not completely settled in the older literature, but it is commonly linked to a byname based on beag, “small” or “little,” giving the sense of a small or slight person, or possibly a nickname with a learned/clerical flavor in later interpretations. The historical spellings show variation such as Begley and Bagley, which is typical of Irish names rendered into English orthography.
History
The name is found in Ireland, especially in Ulster and other parts of the island, and was recorded by 19th- and early-20th-century genealogists in forms close to Begley and Bagley. The surviving evidence in the older sources mainly shows the surname’s distribution and spelling variation rather than a fully secure derivation. In modern usage it remains an Irish surname in Ireland and among diaspora communities, including the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname indexes often note Begley alongside Bagley as a simple vowel-shift variant in Irish records.
From the historical record
“Beggan ; Little, Littleton. 6 tDeAglAOic, O'Begley, Begley, Bagley, Bigly. 6 "beAnriACAin, Banahan. 0 t)eA|tA, Bera, Beary, Berry.”
— Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish names and surnamesNotable people named Begley
- Ed Begley (1901–1970)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.