Bodo (variants ''Botho, Boto, Boddo, Potho, Boda, Puoto'', etc.) is an

Old High German Old High German (OHG; ) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally identified as the period from around 500/750 to 1050. Rather than representing a single supra-regional form of German, Old High German encompasses the numerous ...

name, also adopted in Modern German. It is in origin a short name or

hypocorism A hypocorism ( or ; from Ancient Greek ; sometimes also ''hypocoristic''), or pet name, is a name used to show affection for a person. It may be a diminutive form of a person's name, such as ''Izzy'' for Isabel or ''Bob (given name), Bob'' fo ...

for

Germanic name Germanic given names are traditionally dithematic; that is, they are formed from two elements ( stems), by joining a prefix and a suffix. For example, King Æþelred's name was derived from ', meaning "noble", and ', meaning "counsel". The i ...

s with a first element ''Bod-, Puot-'', reflecting the verbal root '' beud-'' "to bid, command".Förstemann, ''Altdeutsches Namenbuch'' s.v. BUD As a monothematic name, Old High German ''Boto'', Old Saxon ''Bodo'', could mean "lord, commander" or alternatively "messenger" (cf. Old English ''bod'' "command; message", ''boda'' "messenger, angel"). Full dithematic names with this first element (attested for the medieval period but not surviving into modern use) included ''Bodegisil, Bothad, Bodomar, Boderad, Poterich, Bodirid, Butwin, Potelfrid, Botolf, Podalolf, Bodenolf''. The Anglo-Saxon cognate is '' Beda'' (West Saxon ''Bīeda'', Northumbrian ''Bǣda'', Anglian ''Bēda'').J. Insley, "Portesmutha" in: ''Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde'' vol. 23, Walter de Gruyter (2003), 291.

Middle Ages

Bodo (deacon) Bodo (c. 814 – 876) was a Frankish deacon at the court of Emperor Louis the Pious, who caused a notorious case of apostasy in the Europe of his day. Life In early 838, Bodo declared that he was embarking to make a pilgrimage to Rome, but instea ...

(876), German deacon who converted to Judaism, assuming the name of Eleazar * Bodo VII, Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode (1375–1455), German count *

Bodo III, Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode Count Bodo III of Stolberg-Wernigerode (4 January 1467 − 22 June 1538), nicknamed "the Blissful", was Count of Stolberg and Hohnstein and Lord of Wernigerode from 1511 until his death. Life He was born in Stolberg, the son of Count Henry IX ...

(1467–1538), German count

Modern era

* Bodo Abel (born 1948), German professor * Bodo Andreass (born 1955), German boxing coach * Bodo Battenberg (born 1963), German equestrian *

Bodo Baumgarten Bodo Baumgarten (25 November 1940 – 13 September 2022) was a German painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and educator. He is a former professor at Hochschule der Bildenden Künste Saar (HBK) in Saarland. Biography Bodo Baumgarten was born on ...

(1940–2022), German painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and educator * Bodo Bischoff (born 1952), German musicologist and choral conductor *

Bodo Bittner Bodo Bittner (2 February 1940 – 23 September 2012) was a West German bobsledder who competed in the late 1970s. He was born in Berlin. He won the bronze medal in the four-man event at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ...

(1940–2012), West German bobsledder * Bodo Bockenauer (born 1940), German former figure skater * Bodo Dettke (born 1967), Solomon Islands politician * Bodo Ebhardt (1865–1945), German architect, architectural historian, and castle explorer * Bodo Ferl (born 1959), East German retired bobsledder * Bodo Hauser (1946–2004), German journalist and writer * Bodo Hell (born 1943), Austrian writer * Bodo von Hodenberg (1604–1650), German regional administrator and poet *

Bodo Hombach Bodo Hombach (born 19 August 1952) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Early life and education Bodo Hombach was born in Mülheim on the Ruhr, North Rhine-Westphalia. After training to become a telecommunicatio ...

(born 1952), German politician *

Bodo Igesz Bodo Igesz (February 7, 1935 in Amsterdam – December 25, 2014 in New York City) was a Dutch stage director who had an active career staging operas around the world during the second half of the 20th century. He was particularly known for his wor ...

(1935–2014), Dutch stage director * Bodo Illgner (born 1967), German former football goalkeeper * Bodo Kirchhoff (born 1948), German writer and novelist * Bodo Klimpel (born 1963), German politician * Bodo Kox (born 1977), Polish film director, actor, and screenwriter * Bodo Kuhn (born 1967), German sprinter * Bodo Lafferentz (1897–1974), German Nazi member and high-ranking SS officer * Bodo Linnhoff (born 1948), chemical engineer and academic * Bodo Lukowski (born 1961), German wrestler * Bodo Otto (1711–1787), German-born American physician *

Bodo Ramelow Bodo Ramelow (; born 16 February 1956) is a German politician who has been serving as a Member of the Bundestag, representing The Left. He has been its Vice President as of March 2025. He served as Minister-President of Thuringia from December ...

(born 1956), German politician * Bodo Rudwaleit (born 1957), German former football goalkeeper * Bodo Sandberg (1914–2005), Dutch military pilot * Bodo Schäfer (born 1960), German author and public speaker * (born 1968), German doctor and conspiracy activist * Bodo Schlegelmilch, business educator, academic, and marketing theorist * Bodo Schmidt (born 1967), German football coach and former player * Bodo Schopf (born 1959), German rock drummer with Eloy and the

McAuley Schenker Group McAuley Schenker Group (commonly abbreviated to as MSG) was a multi-national rock band based in Los Angeles featuring core members Robin McAuley (vocals) and Michael Schenker (guitar), a successor (and eventual predecessor) to Schenker's earli ...

* Bodo Sieber (born 1979), German former international rugby union player * Bodo Sperlein, German product designer and brand consultant * Bodo Sperling (born 1952), German artist, painter, and inventor * Bodo Spranz (1920–2007), German researcher, director, and ethnologist *

Bodo Thyssen Bodo Thyssen (1918–2004) was a German industrialist and medical doctor, son of Hans Thyssen and grandson of Josef Thyssen, the younger brother of August Thyssen. His businesses included Telefonbau & Normalzeit, Thyssen-Heizkessel and Meld ...

(1918–2004), German industrialist and medical doctor *

Bodo Tümmler Bodo Tümmler (born 8 December 1943) is a German former middle-distance runner. He competed for West Germany at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics in the 1500 meter event, and won a bronze medal in 1968. Biography Tümmler was born in Toruń (Thorn), pa ...

(born 1943), German former middle distance runner *

Bodo Uhse Bodo Uhse (12 March 1904 – 2 July 1963) was a German writer, journalist and political activist. He was recognised as one of the most prominent authors in East Germany. Early years Uhse came from a Prussian Junker family with a long tradition ...

(1904–1963), German writer, journalist, and political activist *

Bodo von Borries Bodo von Borries (born 22 May 1905 in Herford, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany — died 17 July 1956 in Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia) was a German physicist. He was the co-inventor of the electron microscope. Von Borries studied electrical e ...

(1905–1956), German physicist * Bodo von Dewitz (1950–2017), German art historian * Bodo Zimmermann (1886–1963), German general

Botho

* Botho Elster (1894–1952), German major general in World War II * Botho Graef (1857–1917), German classical archaeologist and art historian * Botho Hoefer (1880–1958), German art director * Botho Makubate (born 1990), Botswana female badminton player * Botho Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein (1927–2008), German politician * Botho Sigwart zu Eulenburg (1884–1915), German composer * Botho Strauss (born 1944), German playwright, novelist, and essayist * Botho von Hülsen (1815–1886), German theater manager * Botho von Wedel (1862–1943), German nobleman and a diplomat *

Botho zu Eulenburg Botho Wendt August Graf zu Eulenburg (31 July 1831 – 5 February 1912) was a Prussian statesman. Throughout the entire German Empire period he was, alongside Albrecht von Roon the only Minister President of Prussia not also to be Chancellor of ...

(1831–1912), Prussian statesman

References

{{given name Masculine given names German masculine given names