Given name & surname · also Old Slavonic
Bogdan
“god”·“to give”
Bogdan is a masculine given name from Proto-Slavic. It is used in English, Polish, Romanian, Old Slovak, and 2 other languages.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Bogdan is built from elements meaning “god” and “to give”.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
Its Slavonic formation brings together bog (“god”) and dan (“gift”).
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1954. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Bogdan through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 779
- 779 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2024
- 37 babies
- 2025
- 34
- #3,387 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +5%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 34 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 3,387 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 4.6% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, Illinois had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (7). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 4,334 as a first name in 2020; 2,913 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Bogdan’s family of names
In Polish usage, Bogdan has a diminutive in Bodek. Bogdan has a feminine form in Dana. In Polish usage, Bogdan has a conventional equivalent in the Slovak form Bohdan.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Bogdan has relatives in 14 languages. Lines run from its Proto-Slavic roots to each of them.
15 related names in 14 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 4
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 13
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 6
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Bogdan
- Bogdan LobonțRomanian footballer (born 1978)
- Bogdan StancuRomanian association football playerborn 1987
- Bogdan BogdanovićSerbian basketball player (born 1992)
- Bogdan FilovBulgarian politician and archaeologist (1883-1945)
- Bogdan SteleaRomanian footballerborn 1967
- Bogdan Petriceicu HasdeuRomanian writer and philologist (1838–1907)
- Bogdan BorusewiczPolish politician (born 1949)
- Bogdan TanjevićMontenegrin basketball player and coachborn 1947
- Bogdan BogdanovićSerbian architect, urbanist and essayist (1922-2010)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Bogdan, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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“one who receives more glory”
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