Bo
Feminine · “to live”
Bo is given to both — 865 girls and 14,984 boys since 1880. See Bo as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Bo is a Scandinavian men's name meaning one who lives here, and in America it became a girl's name and a nickname for everything.
How old is the name Bo?
Bo first appears in US birth records in 1929 — 96 years ago. The typical Bo alive today was born around 2007, making them about 18 years old. About 800 people named Bo are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Bo most popular?
Bo peaked in 1980, reaching #2866 nationally. Today it ranks #4546, 1,680 places below that high. See the whole 1980 chart.
Bo appears on this list:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Bo
Ours, offered as ours. Every English place name ending in -by — Whitby, Derby, Grimsby, Rugby — is Norse for a settlement, and the map of where they occur draws the boundary of the Danelaw almost exactly. The word is the same one behind Bo. So a two-letter Scandinavian name carries the root that marks out which half of England the Vikings actually settled in.
Meaning
to live, to dwell
From Old Norse bua, to live or reside, which gives Danish and Swedish Bo; the same root gives English be, bower, byre and the -by ending of English town names left by Norse settlers.
Pronouncing Bo
BOH
One syllable. Scandinavian gives a slightly different vowel.
Nicknames for Bo
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1929
- Most girls named
- 202142 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2866reached in 1980
- Change vs 2024
- +76.5%30 in 2025, from 17
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Bo in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Bo in Danish — same name
- Bo in Swedish — same name
- Bo in Chinese — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas.
Bos among us
people named Bo are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 53,576 born in 2025 was named Bo
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Melida test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Bo's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Melida climbed just as high around 1933, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Melida's path sketches the road Bo is walking now.
Bo sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Bo is headed
Bo is easing off slowly — about 23% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Bo beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Bo in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Two letters and one syllable — the shortest a name can practically be.
- A settled meaning with a genuinely deep and visible root.
- Read correctly on sight by every English speaker.
- It is a men's name in Scandinavia and used for both sexes in America.
- A two-letter name gives no room for a nickname.
- It reads as a nickname, which may matter on a formal document.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Bo to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Bo
Feminine · #4546 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Bos are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Bo are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Bo in 2025?
- Bo ranks #4546 among US girl names in 2025, with 30 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Bo?
- About 1 in every 53,576 US girls born in 2025 was named Bo — 30 in all.
- Will my child share the name Bo with classmates?
- Bo will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Bo
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Amie#4546 · Rashell#4546 · Renatta#4546 · Raisa#4546 · Amena#4546 · Aryn#4546 · Nadiya#4546 · Jeanne#4546
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Bo? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Bo and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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