Given name & surname
Mo
“a dark-skinned man; Moorish”·“a dark-skinned man”
In English use, Mo is a short form of Maurice. One Latin interpretation is “a dark-skinned man; Moorish.” Mo is a variant of Moe. One American interpretation is “a dark-skinned man.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, Mo is a short form of Maurice. One Latin interpretation is “a dark-skinned man; Moorish.” Mo is a variant of Moe. One American interpretation is “a dark-skinned man.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
In English use, Mo is a short form of Maurice. An origin associated with Maurice is Late Latin. In English use, Mo is a diminutive of Mohammed. An origin associated with Mohammed is Arabic. In English use, Mo is a diminutive of Moses. A possible origin is Egyptian, although the derivation remains uncertain. Mo is a variant of Moe. An origin associated with Moe is American.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In English use, Mo is used as a shortened form of Maureen.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 2013. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Mo is a diminutive of Morris. The history of Morris gives this family its wider story. Morris was in use during the Middle Ages. In English use, Mo is a diminutive of Moses. The history of Moses gives this family its wider story. Moses appears in biblical tradition, giving it a longstanding religious and cultural context.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Mo through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 27
- 20 boys · 7 girls
- Most popular year
- 2016
- 14 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 6 in 2023. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 3,396 as a first name in 2020; 5,612 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.
Mo’s family of names
In English usage, Mo is a diminutive of Monica. Mo has a related form in Maureen. In English usage, Mo is a diminutive of Maureen.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Mo has relatives in 3 languages.
12 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 12
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 5
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Mo
- Mo FarahBritish track and field athleteborn 1983
- Mo WilliamsAmerican professional basketball player and coachborn 1982
- Mo BrooksAmerican politician (born 1954)
- Mo MowlamBritish politician (1949-2005)
- Mo IbrahimSudanese-British businessmanborn 1946
- Mo Cowan29th United States Senator from Massachusetts (Class 2)born 1969
- Mo UdallAmerican politician (1922–1998)
- Mo CamaraGuinean footballerborn 1975
- Mo CollinsAmerican actor and comedianborn 1965
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Mo, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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