Baig, also commonly spelled Bayg, Beigh, Beg, Bek, Bey, Baeg or Begh (Persian: بیگ, Beig, Turkish: Bey), was a Turkic title which is today used as a name to identify lineage. It means Chief or Commander and is an honorific title. It is common in Turkey, Iran, the Caucasus, Central Asia, South Asia and Southeast Europe and among their respective diaspora. Etymology The origin of beg is still disputed, though it is mostly agreed that it is a Turkic loan-word. Two principal etymologies have been proposed. The first etymology is from a Middle Iranian form of Old Iranian baga; though the meaning would fit since the Middle Persian forms of the word often mean "lord", used for the king or others. The second etymology is from Chinese po "eldest (brother), (feudal) lord". Gerhard Doerfer seriously considers the possibility that the word is genuinely Turkic. Whatever the truth may be, there is no connection with Turkish berk, Mongolian berke "strong" or Turkish bögü, Mongolian böge "wizard, "shaman". Baig and Beg was also subsequently used as a military rank in the Ottoman Empire. It was also used by the Uyghurs, it permitted the Turkic Begs in the Altishahr region to maintain their previous status, and they administered the area for the Qing as officials. High-ranking Begs were allowed to call themselves Begs. Use as a name For the Persian use, it is common to see the name Beg added to the Persian suffix of 'zada' (male), 'zadi' (female), which means 'son of' or 'daughter of'. For Example: Sohaib Begzada or Hira Begzadi. For the Turkish use, it is most common to see the spelling Beg or Bey utilized. (Sometimes, it is used along with the title "Mirza", similar to the Mughal usage).. For the Mughal and Timurid dynasty use, the honorific title Mirza () was added before the given name for all the males and 'Baig' () for the males or Begum () for the females, was added as a family name. For example: Mirza Sohaib Baig or Hira Begum. This was the historical naming convention for the descendants of the Mughal and Timurid dynasties, Today, however, it is common to see descendants of the Mughals and Timurids use Baig as a middle name and Mirza as the surname or vice versa. For example: Abdullah Baig Mirza or Abdullah Mirza Baig. For the Slavic or Bosniak use, it is common to see