Beglin

Recorded in many spellings including Beglan, Beglin, Baglan, Baglin, Bagline, Bagling, and Baglon, this is an Irish surname. It is a developed form of the ancient Gaelic O' Beigleighinn, the prefix O' meaning "descendant of" plus "beag", meaning little and "leighinn", a scholar, and hence the descendant of the little scholar. It is a rare name found mainly in County Westmeath and County Longford. The surname is apparently first recorded in the famous register known as 'Petty's census of Ireland 1659'. Curiously the surname seems to be better recorded in the registers lf \England and specifically the city of London, than in its own country. These registers include recordings such as Samuel and Anne Baglin, on May 3rd 1691, at St. Dunstan in the East, Stepney, whilst Richard Bagland married Mary Stevens on March 1694, at St. James Dukes Place, Westminster. Bridget Baglan, given as being an Irish emigrant fleeing the infamous potato famine of 1846 - 1851, sailed from Liverpool aboard the ship Oxford on January 16th 1846, bound for New York. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Maurice O' Beglin. This was dated 1529, in the Annals of Loch Ce, Ireland. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.