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ArchivesLooking for the meaning of "Bocephus" or "Bocephas"
Will you tell me the meaning of Bocephus.
Thanks,
Marti
Thanks,
Marti
1
Replies
Already suggested. Further Information (https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=68478), the name comes from a book by Albert Bigelow Paine titled The Arkansas Bear: a tale of fanciful adventure (1898). The complete book can be downloaded from Project Gutenberg. In the book, the proper name of the boy Bo is Bocephus--long before Brasfield's dummy was a log in the woodcarver's bin. (In case you're wondering, the bear's name is Horatio.)
The book inspired a song popular in the 1920s:
"There was a little boy whose name was Bo
He went into the woods when the moon was gettin' low
Where he met a big bear who was hungry for a snack
And the folks are still awaitin' for Bocephus to come back
Oh, Bo became the teacher of the kind and gentle creature
Who could play upon the fiddle in a very skillful way
And they wandered off together and will never ever sever
Bocephus and the fiddle and the big black bear."
The book inspired a song popular in the 1920s:
"There was a little boy whose name was Bo
He went into the woods when the moon was gettin' low
Where he met a big bear who was hungry for a snack
And the folks are still awaitin' for Bocephus to come back
Oh, Bo became the teacher of the kind and gentle creature
Who could play upon the fiddle in a very skillful way
And they wandered off together and will never ever sever
Bocephus and the fiddle and the big black bear."
This message was edited 10/23/2018, 1:36 PM
2
Interesting discussion. It seems thegriffon has found a likely source of the name used by Hank Williams Sr., and I only want to add that the name Bocephas is also used in the 1964 film 'Your Cheatin' Heart,' starring George Hamilton as Hank Williams Sr. In the film, Hamilton is longing to see his son, and calls a boy he meets at a fishing hole Bocephas.
1
Are You Ready For Some Onomastics!!!
Actually, I'm not sure of the meaning. Undoubtedly you know that this name's principal association is as a nickname (since boyhood) for Hank Williams, Jr.
The name was bestowed on him by his dad and taken from the name of a ventriloquist's dummy used by another performer at the Grand Ole Opry.
Some people confuse or attribute the name to Alexander the Great's horse but that was Bucephalus (Oxhead) and unrelated unless this was some kind of redneck corruption thereof. Not impossible.
Other people use the name as a first name but tend (suspiciously) to be in the music business or just wishful-thinking good ole boys. In any case, all seem to be considerably younger than Mr. Williams, who's 40+, so its use is probably derivative.
If there is any legit meaning to it, our own Mr. Lovs, an eminent Greek etymologist and Athenian eccentric, will undoubtedly share his insight with us soon.
Actually, I'm not sure of the meaning. Undoubtedly you know that this name's principal association is as a nickname (since boyhood) for Hank Williams, Jr.
The name was bestowed on him by his dad and taken from the name of a ventriloquist's dummy used by another performer at the Grand Ole Opry.
Some people confuse or attribute the name to Alexander the Great's horse but that was Bucephalus (Oxhead) and unrelated unless this was some kind of redneck corruption thereof. Not impossible.
Other people use the name as a first name but tend (suspiciously) to be in the music business or just wishful-thinking good ole boys. In any case, all seem to be considerably younger than Mr. Williams, who's 40+, so its use is probably derivative.
If there is any legit meaning to it, our own Mr. Lovs, an eminent Greek etymologist and Athenian eccentric, will undoubtedly share his insight with us soon.
2
I wonder if it is an alternate spelling of Beau Cephas. Beau is French for beautiful, Cephas is Aramaic for
rock, or Petros in Greek, from which we get Peter.
rock, or Petros in Greek, from which we get Peter.
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Gotta agree with the redneck corruption theory!
1
I'd like to know the meaning of Bocephus myself im actually named that my mother heard Hank SR. call Hank Jr. that and said if she ever had a little boy she would name him Bocephus so sure enough she did. I recently heard that it was a type of trouble causing demon or something, im not sure how much truth there is to that so im searching the internet to see what I can find it anyone finds out anything new i'd like to know i'll be checking this place more often now. Anyway back to searching..
Bo
Bo
1
I am about to have a son and I plan on naming him Bocephus. My wife is a little put off that we can not find a solid meaning.
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I curious about this one, too. When I was a kid, we had a basset hound named Sam, and my father took to calling him Sam Bocephus or just Bocephus. This would've been in the early 1970s.
I don't know where my father got Bocephus. For ages, I thought it must be a name from the bible. My dad was a fan of country music, but I doubt he was aware in the early 1970s of Hank Williams, Jr.'s nickname. He may have gotten it from the name of Rod Brasfield's ventriloquist dummy (as mentioned earlier); maybe he heard Brasfield's performances on the Grand Old Opry. I like to think he got it from the folk song thegriffon mentioned, about the boy Bocephus and the bear named Horatio.
I don't know where my father got Bocephus. For ages, I thought it must be a name from the bible. My dad was a fan of country music, but I doubt he was aware in the early 1970s of Hank Williams, Jr.'s nickname. He may have gotten it from the name of Rod Brasfield's ventriloquist dummy (as mentioned earlier); maybe he heard Brasfield's performances on the Grand Old Opry. I like to think he got it from the folk song thegriffon mentioned, about the boy Bocephus and the bear named Horatio.
1
Sorry to break it to you, but hanks song titled "my name is bocephus" came out in 68'.... im almost certain that hank is wxactly where he got the name from... 2021 was the only year that topped 1968-1975 for having children born with that name
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