Given name & surname · also Chinese, Old Norse
Bo
“a precious daughter”·“a lively woman”·“a precious son”
Bo is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “a precious daughter”, “a lively woman”, “a precious son”, and “a lively man”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “a precious daughter”, “a lively woman”, “a precious son”, and “a lively man”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Old Norse.
How it developed
In English usage, Bo is a diminutive of Beau. In English usage, Bo is a diminutive of Beauregard.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1907. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Bo has a related form in Beau. The history of Beau gives this family its wider story. The nickname Beau is associated with the Regency figure Beau Brummell. Beau’s adoption as a given name may have been encouraged by the hero of P. C. Wren’s Beau Geste and the character Beau in Gone with the Wind.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Bo through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 15,849
- 14,984 boys · 865 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 728 babies
- 2025
- 728
- #449 for boys · #4,570 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +35%
- Rising
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 95% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 698 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 449 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 36.6% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 30 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (56). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 18,833 as a first name in 2020; 1,730 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Bo’s family of names
In English usage, Bo is a diminutive of Beau. Bo has a related form in Boe. In English usage, Bo has a related form in Beau.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Bo has relatives in 5 languages. Lines run from its Old Norse roots to each of them.
5 related names in 5 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 6
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Bo
- Kristoffer NordfeldtSwedish association football playerborn 1989
- Bo CarpelanFinnish writer (1926-2011)
- Bo WiderbergSwedish film director, screenwriter and film editor (1930–1997)
- E-TypeSwedish singerborn 1965
- Bo LarssonSwedish footballer (1944–2023)
- Johan RenckSwedish director and musicianborn 1966
- Bo McCalebbMacedonian basketball player (born 1985)
- Bo HorvatCanadian ice hockey playerborn 1995
- Bo JohanssonSwedish footballerborn 1942
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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