Beowulf

Beowulf is a legendary Geatish hero in the eponymous epic poem, one of the oldest surviving pieces of English literature. Etymology and origins of the character A number of origins have been proposed for the name Beowulf. Beowulf Henry Sweet, a philologist and linguist specializing in Germanic languages, proposed that the name Bēowulf literally means in Old English "bee-wolf" or "bee-hunter" and that it is a kenning for "bear". Recorded instances of similar names mirror this etymology. The AD 1031 Liber Vitae records the name Biuuuwulf. The name is attested to a monk from Durham and means bee wolf in the Old Northumbrian dialect. The 11th century English Domesday Book contains a recorded instance of the name Beulf. The scholar suggested that the name Beowulf derived from a mistranslation of Böðvarr with -varr interpreted as vargr meaning "wolf". However, Sophus Bugge questioned this etymology, and instead suggested that the personage Böðvarr Bjarki derived from Beowulf. Beow-Wolf In 2005, Andy Orchard theorized an etymology on the basis of the common Old Norse name Þórólfr (which literally translates to "Thor Wolf"), stating in parallel that a "more likely" meaning for the name would be the "wolf" of the Germanic god Beow.