Étgar

This name derives from the English (Anglo-Saxon) name “Ēadgār,” composed of two elements: “*audaz” (prosperity, fortune, riches, wealth) plus “*gaizaz” (spear, pike, javelin). In turn, the name means “prosperity-spear, prosperous spearman.” In England, the name disappeared after the Norman Conquest. Yet, it returned to spread in the eighteenth century, thanks to a character for “The Bride of Lammermoor,” a historical novel by Sir Walter Scott, published in 1819. 1) Edgar the Peaceful, or Edgar I (943–975), also called the Peaceable, was king of England from 959 to 975. Edgar was the younger son of Edmund I. 2) Étgar mac Maíl Choluim, nicknamed Probus, “the Valiant” (1074–1107), who was king of Alba from 1097 to 1107. He was the fourth son of Malcolm III (Máel Coluim mac Donnchada) and Margaret of Wessex (later Saint Margaret) but the first to be considered eligible for the throne after the death of his father.