Bodkin as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Bodkin

What is the meaning of the name Bodkin ?

The baby name Bodkin is a Male name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈbɒd.kɪn/ or /ˈbɑd.kɪn/ (BOD-kin).

Bodkin is English in Origin.

Bodkin is a rare given name drawn from the English noun bodkin, recorded in Middle English as bodkin/bodkyn and likely formed as a diminutive (ultimate origin uncertain). The word denoted a small dagger or stiletto and, later, a blunt needle or pin used for threading ribbon or laces - hence associations with sharpness, precision, and handiwork. Shakespeare’s “a bare bodkin” in Hamlet fixed the dagger sense in literary memory.

As a personal name, Bodkin is most often a transferred surname. It is well established in Ireland, notably among the Tribes of Galway, where Bodkin families of Anglo-Norman descent appear in records from the late medieval period; modern bearers include Irish cultural figures such as Thomas Bodkin and M. McD. Bodkin. Contemporary given-name use follows the surname-as-first-name trend. Historical variants and spellings include Bodkyn and Bodekin; Bodkins survives as a pluralized surname form.

⚙ Bodkin is an extremely rare name. Across our dataset of national birth registries and international name records, Bodkin appears only 2 times in total — found in 2 countries. If you're considering it, you'd be giving your child a name almost nobody else has.