Meaning and history
Possibly meaning “the ancestor is a hero,” from Sumerian 𒉋𒂵 (bilga) “ancestor” and 𒈩 (mes) “hero, young man,” this was the name of a Sumerian hero who later appears in the Akkadian Epic of Gilgamesh. In the poem, Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu battle the giant Humbaba, stop the rampage of the Bull of Heaven, and have other adventures. He was probably based on a real king of Uruk who ruled around the 27th century BC.