The Germanic Onomasticon and the Etymology of Beowulf’s Name

Debate has persisted as to whether the first element of Beowulf’s name is to be identified as bēo (“bee”) or Bēow (an agricultural deity cognate with Byggvir). The present article reassesses various forms of evidence bearing on the relative probability of these two etymologies. It identifies compelling reasons to believe that bēo (“bee”) would not have been used as the prototheme of a male dithematic name, while finding that there are no genuine obstacles to credence in the theophoric analysis of Beowulf’s name.