The name appears to be an early calque from Greek Theodore (Theodotus, Theodosius) or Hebrew Matthew with the same meaning.
The sound change of 'g' into 'h' occurred in the Ukrainian, Belarusian, Czech and Slovak languages (hence Bohdan).
Slavic variants include Bulgarian and Serbo-Croatian Božidar (Божидар)[2] and Polish Bożydar, and diminutive forms and nicknames include Boguś, Bodya, Boca, Boci, Boća, Boša, Bogi, Bo, Boga Boga, Boggie.
[citation needed] The feminine form is Bogdana or Bohdana, with variants such as Bogdanka.
Names with similar meanings include Persian Khodadad, Greek Theodore, Arabic Ataullah, Hebrew Nathaniel, Jonathan, and Matthew, Latin Deodatus, French Dieudonné, and Sanskrit Devadatta.