Feeling nudged to choose a baby name that contains the letter-pair DG?
It’s an uncommon combination, but I’ve tracked down a few dozen options for you in this post!
Before we get to the names, though, let’s learn…
Where did -DGE come from in English?
French scribes, essentially.
In Old English, the “soft g” sound was rare, and it only occurred at the end of a word. When it did pop up, it was spelled with the digraph CG.
After the Norman Conquest in 1066, the ruling class of England spoke Anglo-Norman French. Over time, “the French-educated scribes [began] imposing traditional French spelling rules on English.”
The Normans had brought with them “soft g” words that utilized the letters G and I (which later evolved into J), but for native English words that contained the same sound, they decided to swap out CG for the trigraph DGE.
Some examples…
| Old English | Modern English |
| brycg | bridge |
| ecg | edge |
| hecg | hedge |
| hrycg | ridge |
| wecg | wedge |
Words derived from Anglo-Norman that happen to have the same ending include judge, pledge, and badge, and budge.
Now, on to the names!
Names with DG
Below are names that feature either DGE or the letter-pair DG (if it represents the same “soft G” sound). All of these names come from the SSA’s baby name data.
- Adger
- Adgie
- Aldridge
- Bridge
- Bridger
- Bridges
- Bridget, Bridgett, Bridgette, Bridgete
- Bridgetta
- Bridgid
- Bridgit, Bridgitt, Bridgitte
- Cambridge
- Coleridge
- Condredge
- Coolidge, Cooledge
- Dandridge
- Dodge
- Dodger
- Edge
- Edgel
- Edger
- Edgerrin, Edgerin
- Edwidge
- Elbridge
- Eldredge
- Eldridge
- Elridge
- Etheridge
- Ethridge
- Gadge
- Gidget, Gidgette
- Hodge
- Hodges
- Judge
- Knowledge
- Ledgen
- Ledgend
- Ledger
- Madge
- Madgel
- Madgie
- Midge
- Midgie
- Milledge
- Naledge
- Padgett
- Pledger
- Redge
- Redgie
- Redginald
- Ridge, Rydge
- Ridger
- Ridgely
- Ridgeway
- Ridgway
- Rodger
- Rodgerick
- Rodgers
- Rutledge
- Sedgie
- Sedgwick
- Talmadge
Which DG name do you like most? Let me know in the comments!
Sources:
- Old English Online – Advanced Pronunciation Guide
- Stroud, Kevin W. “Episode 87: The First Spelling Reformers.” The History of English Podcast 7 Dec. 2016.
- SSA
Bridgitte is my favorite.
It’s not on your list but I’m fond of Breckenridge. A friend’s son was named that after his grandfather.