Bodine
A surname probably connected with a French word for someone merry, waggish, or sportive.
The #6,699 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 61,235 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is treated in the old dictionaries as probably coming from a French word meaning “waggish,” “merry,” or “sportive,” suggesting an original nickname for a lively or playful person. The same source also notes a Dutch word, "boodinne," meaning “she-messenger,” but that looks more like a comparative gloss than a secure derivation. In modern terms, the name is best handled as an uncertain nickname-style surname with a likely French connection.
History
The surname appears in Anglophone records mainly as Bodine, especially in the United States. Because the old source offers more than one possible explanation, the etymology should be treated cautiously rather than as firmly established. The name is relatively uncommon, which often happens with surnames that have shifted spelling after migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname books sometimes used colorful personality words like “merry” and “sportive” as shorthand for how a family name may have begun.
From the historical record
“BOCOCK. BeaucocJc, a fine fellow ; a straggler. BODINE. (Fr.) Waggish, merry, sportive. Boodinne, in the Dutch, signifies a she-messenger. BODLEY. (Cor. Br.) Local The house on the lea; from Bod, a house, and ley. BOG-ART. (Dutch.) Local From boomgard, an orchard. 4 74 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY”
— An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names