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Help[Opinions] How did Margaret get the nickname Peggy?
My best guess is it went from Margie to Maggie, to Meggy and finally to Peggy. Do any of you know?
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The explanations below are correct. I would just add that it was the custom to change the "M" in rhyming nicknames for women to "P". So not only does Peggy come from Margaret/Meggie, but Polly comes from Mary/Molly and Patty and Patsy came from Martha/Matty. Patricia was not used as a name in English until the 19th century, but there were plenty of women called Patty or Patsy before then -- they were officially "Martha".
I have a daughter named Genevieve, whom we usually call "Gennie." Interestingly, recently my son has taken to calling her "Penny." I'm seeing the transition to P rhyming nicknames in action!
Also, I did not know that Patty/Patsy were originally short forms of Martha!
Also, I did not know that Patty/Patsy were originally short forms of Martha!
TMyers has the facts below of the transition from Margaret to Peggy.
The reason there are so many nicknames for the classics like Margaret, Elizabeth, Anne, John, William etc...is because so many women and men were called these names in the past they had to "branch out" and invent nicknames to differentiate each individual.
In one household you could have three or four Margarets so one was called the full name, one was Maggie, a third was Meg and the youngest would be Peggy.
It's amazing how names have evolved from a short list of favourites to "anything goes" which defines today's naming practices.
The reason there are so many nicknames for the classics like Margaret, Elizabeth, Anne, John, William etc...is because so many women and men were called these names in the past they had to "branch out" and invent nicknames to differentiate each individual.
In one household you could have three or four Margarets so one was called the full name, one was Maggie, a third was Meg and the youngest would be Peggy.
It's amazing how names have evolved from a short list of favourites to "anything goes" which defines today's naming practices.
This is an article that deals with linguistics of it! It's quite fascinating!
https://englishlanguagethoughts.com/2018/02/28/peggy-margaret-pearl-and-daisy/
https://englishlanguagethoughts.com/2018/02/28/peggy-margaret-pearl-and-daisy/
The nickname "Peggy" for Margaret is thought to have originated from the nickname "Maggie", which over time changed to "Meggie" and "Meg" due to accents altering vowel sounds. The name then evolved into "Peggy" and "Peg" as a result of a trend to create rhyming nicknames, similar to how "Bill" comes from "William".
I found this on the internet...
I found this on the internet...