Norwegian translation: meadow by the rocks that are washed by the sea
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Explanation: They (the linguists who have studied this) seem to believe that the word Bodø is only a variant of the old local name Bodin, that is Bodhvin in the old language. They are quite sure that the last part is "vin" (they can be sure while this is a frequently found part of many very old norwegian place names), which means (or was in old norwegain the word for) "natural meadow" (that's also what the vikings called the american coast; Vinland). They also think first part might be oldnorse bodhi, (modern norw. "båe" or "grunnskjær") a rock that doesnt really stick up of the water, you can only see it from the waves/water breaking around/over it. So with rocks and green, they are not that far out. But the "islands" is an old linguistic misunderstanding. "Ø" is the danish word for norwegian "øy", which means "island". And since we wrote Danish for quite a long period (until less than a hundred years ago), an old "jump-to-conclusions-theory" has been that "ø" means "island". But it doesn't fit the landscape very well, and it doesn't fit linguistically, so that theory is abandoned. (The japanese seems to have recycled an out of date-interpretation.)
I used to live in Bodø, quite many years, and I think "the meadow by the rocks that are washed by the sea" (or somthing like that) fits the landscape very well, and it fits the linguistic interpretation. (There isn't much left of the meadow, of course but some places one can still see it.)
My source is "Norsk stadnamnleksikon", Samlaget 1997 (and my perceptions of the place and the little knowledge from the place name studies that was part of my education ;-)
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[was once known as "meadow by the rocks that are washed by the sea"], and included some notes to the client summarizing what people said here. Thanks so much, everyone, for your help! 4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer
Explanation: According to Gyldendals Store Konversasjonsleksikon, Bodø comes from Bodin, which was an area that includes Bodø. The meaning of Bodin is disputed according to it - it says the first part could either be from bodhi (båe - reef/rock) or bodh (gjestebud - feast/banquet). The second part however is from vin (eng - meadow).
Note - I'm giving this a medium confidence because this encyclopedia is very old, and there may have been newer information uncovered since then.
Frode Aleksandersen Norway Local time: 11:02 Native speaker of: Norwegian, English
Explanation: I am not a specialist in this field, but I can translate the link below for you:
Bodø has its origin in the 16th century. The name is probably a misspelling of Bodin, the local church centre at the time. Bodin consists of to Old Norse words: botha/batha/bod ("skerry" or "banquet") and vin ("pasture"). I.e. the name "Bodø" is a misspelling of "Bodin", which means som betyr pasture/settlement/banquet at the riverside. However, the name has is also possibly a connection to Bodeiar, which means øya (the peninsula) with boder (houses), i.e. a settlement.
...so I suppose "green islands made of rock" is not directly wrong, but it just one out of many theories.
Navnet Bodø kan spores tilbake til 1500-tallet. Navnet er mest sannsynlig en feilstavelse av Bodin, som var kirkestedet i området på denne tiden. Bodin består av to gammelnorske ord: botha/batha/bod (som kan bety enten «båen» eller «gjestebud») og vin («havnegang«). Bodø-navnet er da feilstavingen av Bodin, som betyr havnegang/boplass/gjestebud ved elva. Men det er også mulig at navnet har sammenheng med Bodeiar som betyr øya (halvøya) hvor det finnes boder (hus) altså en bebodd plass.
Explanation: According to Wikipedia (http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodø) it's probably a misspelling of Bodin in the 1500s, which means settlement near the river.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 24 mins (2009-04-21 18:52:02 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
I meant: quite sure it doesn't mean green islands made of rock. The last part disappeared somehow.
Koen Speetjens Local time: 04:02 Native speaker of: Dutch
Explanation: They (the linguists who have studied this) seem to believe that the word Bodø is only a variant of the old local name Bodin, that is Bodhvin in the old language. They are quite sure that the last part is "vin" (they can be sure while this is a frequently found part of many very old norwegian place names), which means (or was in old norwegain the word for) "natural meadow" (that's also what the vikings called the american coast; Vinland). They also think first part might be oldnorse bodhi, (modern norw. "båe" or "grunnskjær") a rock that doesnt really stick up of the water, you can only see it from the waves/water breaking around/over it. So with rocks and green, they are not that far out. But the "islands" is an old linguistic misunderstanding. "Ø" is the danish word for norwegian "øy", which means "island". And since we wrote Danish for quite a long period (until less than a hundred years ago), an old "jump-to-conclusions-theory" has been that "ø" means "island". But it doesn't fit the landscape very well, and it doesn't fit linguistically, so that theory is abandoned. (The japanese seems to have recycled an out of date-interpretation.)
I used to live in Bodø, quite many years, and I think "the meadow by the rocks that are washed by the sea" (or somthing like that) fits the landscape very well, and it fits the linguistic interpretation. (There isn't much left of the meadow, of course but some places one can still see it.)
My source is "Norsk stadnamnleksikon", Samlaget 1997 (and my perceptions of the place and the little knowledge from the place name studies that was part of my education ;-)
Ragnhild Tønnessen Norway Local time: 04:02 Native speaker of: Norwegian PRO pts in category: 4
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I used
[was once known as "meadow by the rocks that are washed by the sea"], and included some notes to the client summarizing what people said here. Thanks so much, everyone, for your help!
The translation workplace 
