Babbagei

Babbagei is a Latinized species epithet used in the scientific names of various organisms to honor Charles Babbage, the 19th-century English mathematician and pioneer of computing. In the system of binomial nomenclature, the second word of a species name (the specific epithet) is often formed from a surname in the genitive case; for male honorees, the ending -i is standard, yielding babbagei as the epithet. By convention, the epithet is lowercase and not capitalized.

The epithet babbagei has been employed in multiple, independent taxa across different groups, such as insects, reptiles, birds, or plants. Each occurrence refers to a distinct species within its respective genus, and the same epithet may appear in unrelated genera.

Its use reflects a tradition in taxonomy of commemorating scientists and contributors to science and technology by naming new species after them. Babbage is widely recognized for conceptualizing the difference engine and the analytical engine, foundational ideas in computing.

Variants include babbageae for a female honoree and babbageorum for multiple honorees, though such forms depend on the honoree's gender and linguistic rules.

See also: Charles Babbage; Taxonomic nomenclature; Patronyms in biology.