Bede as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Bede

What is the meaning of the name Bede ?

The baby name Bede is a Male name , 1 syllables long and is pronounced /biːd/ ("beed", rhymes with "need").

Bede is English in Origin.

Bede is an English given name rooted in Old English bede, “prayer” or “petition,” cognate with the verb biddan “to ask, to pray” and the modern word bead (from the practice of counting prayers). The Latinized form Beda appears in early manuscripts, and the name is sometimes interpreted as “prayerful” or “one who prays.” Though Anglo-Saxon in origin, Bede has remained transparent in meaning across English and other Germanic contexts.

The name’s renown rests on the Northumbrian monk and scholar Saint Bede the Venerable (c. 673–735), whose Ecclesiastical History shaped English historiography and secured his cult. Given use continued in medieval England, especially in monastic and recusant circles, with a modest revival among English-speaking Catholics in the 18th–19th centuries; it also finds occasional use in Ireland and Australia. Variants and related forms include Beda (Latin and German), with modern nicknames like Bee. The name remains rare yet distinctive.