Bodin
A Scandinavian masculine name derived from the Old Norse word "boði", meaning "warrior".
Name Census estimates that about 311 living Americans carry the first name Bodin. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Bodin today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bodin births was 2021 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bodin. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
311
~ 1 in 1,102,104 Americans
Peak year
2021
29 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,985
Tracked since 2002
Census
Bodin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 230 people with the first name Bodin, which placed it at #35,134 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#35,134
National first-name rank
People counted
230
230 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
83.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bodin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bodin is White at 83.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.4%) and Hispanic (4.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Bodin described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Bodin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.9% · 193
- Two or more races7.4% · 17
- Hispanic or Latino4.8% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.5% · 8
- Black or African American0.4% · 1
Popularity
Bodin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bodin from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 122 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bodin by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Bodin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Bodins live
Origin
Meaning and history of Bodin
The name Bodin has its origins in the Scandinavian and Germanic languages, with roots that can be traced back to the Old Norse and Old German words meaning "messenger" or "herald." It is believed to have emerged during the Viking era, around the 8th to 11th centuries AD, when the Norse people were actively exploring and settling in various parts of Europe.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bodin can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of historical narratives dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries. These sagas mention individuals with the name Bodin, often depicted as warriors or chieftains, reflecting the name's association with strength and leadership.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Bodin. One such individual was Jean Bodin (1530-1596), a French jurist, philosopher, and political thinker who is regarded as one of the founders of the modern concept of sovereignty. His influential work, "Six Books of the Commonwealth," published in 1576, laid the foundations for the theory of the absolute power of the state.
Another prominent Bodin was Jens Bodin (1642-1705), a Danish theologian and writer who served as the Bishop of Aalborg from 1694 until his death. He was known for his contributions to the Lutheran church and his writings on religious subjects.
In the realm of literature, Bodin Wilcke (1903-1984) was a Swedish author and playwright who gained recognition for his novels and plays, which often explored themes of love, social issues, and the human condition.
Moving to the field of science, Bodin Karlsson Liljeqvist (1857-1935) was a Swedish meteorologist and glaciologist who made significant contributions to the study of glaciers and climate change. He conducted extensive research in the Arctic regions and published numerous works on his findings.
Lastly, in the world of sports, Bodin Isak Timander (1890-1981) was a Swedish gymnast who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm. He won a silver medal as part of the Swedish team in the gymnastics team event.
These are just a few examples of the notable individuals who have borne the name Bodin throughout history, each leaving their mark in their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of cultural heritage associated with this name.
People
Bodin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bodin as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Bodin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bodin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 311 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bodin going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,102,104 US residents.
Is Bodin a common name?
We classify Bodin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 314 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bodin most popular?
The single biggest year for Bodin was 2021, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bodin is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Bodin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 230 people with the name Bodin, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,134 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Bodin in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Bodin?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bodin appears almost entirely male. Of the 237 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Bodin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bodin is White at 83.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.4%) and Hispanic (4.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Bodin most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Bodin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.9% (193 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Bodin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bodin a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bodin in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Bodin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bodin in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Bodin can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Bodin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.