Peter

[Brian M. Scott]

On Thursday, March 29, 2001 9:13 am -0800 Gordon Brown
<gordonbr at microsoft.com> wrote:

> DGK's posting reminds me of a question I've had for quite a while.
> In an article about Bede (Baeda), I saw a bibliographic reference
> that implied that the name Baeda might be somehow related to the
> name Peter. Is this possible?  In any case, does Baeda equate to
> any modern name?

Hilver Stro"m, _Old English Personal Names in Bede's History_
(Lund, 1939), says that the name occurs 'rather often' in OE, and not
just in reference to the famous historian.  The most common form
appears to be <Beda>.  He cautiously says that <Be:d-> is

    supposed to be connected with OE be:odan 'to bid, command'
    (pret. be:ad < *baud-) and to be formed by means of an i-suffix,
    the theme being *baudi-.

There is an OE name <Bedca> that also appears to contain the stem.
On this view the name would be related to Cont. Gmc. <Baudo> and
the like.  Ekwall apparently once suggested that the OE name might
instead be from Celtic *boudi- (cf. Gaul. <Baudius>, <Boudius> and
the well-known British <Bodicca>), which seems to figure in some
British place-names.  A connection with <Peter> seems improbable
on any account, and I don't think that there's a modern form.

Brian M. Scott