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Peg (F)>

Peg (female)

Variants:Greta (F) Madge (F) Meg (F) Peggy (F) Peig (F) Peigi (F)
Pet Name for:Margaret (F)
   
Source(s): The Oxford Names Companion, OUP
"Scottish Forenames" - Donald Whyte, FGH, FSG
Private communication [B2]
Notes:

English short form of Peggy [q.v.], a pet name for Margaret [q.v.], from Greek or Persian "pearl".

A correspondent [B2] relates that a Scottish ancestor named Margaret was called Peg.  It was explained that the usual pet name would be Maggie which was also a common nickname for the bird, 'magpie'.  In Scots the magpie may be called a "peg-pie", hence Peg for a girl also called "Maggie".  Authorised sources have some difficulty explaining the transition from M- to P- and this may be a reasonablle explanation.

[Note: The Oxford Names Companion mentions that there may have been "celtic influence" for this change of initial letter, but dismisses the likelihood!]