Until 1896, the name of the municipality was Bodø landdistrikt, meaning "the rural district of Bodø". The town of Bodø is named after the old Bodøgård farm meaning "the farm (gård) of Bodø". The Old Norse form of the farm's name was or , and the municipality (originally the parish) was named after it because the first church (Bodin Church) was built on its ground. The meaning of the first element is, maybe, which means "skerry". The last element is which means "meadow" or "pasture". In 1896, the municipality was renamed Bodin which is a more modern version of the older Old Norse form .
