Jo

Did you know?

A few things about Jo you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Jo

Jo Nesbø

Norwegian novelist, musician and economist

Choose Jo and your child shares a first name with Jo Nesbø, a Norwegian novelist, musician and economist. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Jo, like who?” Jo Nesbø's Wikipedia article is available in 61 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Jo Nesbø on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Elena Torre, CC BY-SA 2.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 44,643 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Jo, 36 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Jo would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryJo first shows up in US birth records in 1881, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 144 years since.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1947, when it ranked #51. Today it's #3,975, so it could be due a comeback.
• 🚀TrendJo has climbed 30 places in the US rankings over the last five years and now sits at #3,975. Fast risers like this often keep climbing, so expect to hear it more.
• ⚖️Boy or girlJo is given to both boys and girls: 82% of the 44 babies named Jo in 2025 were girls. That makes it one of the names that truly works for either.

About the name Jo

Jo is a gender-neutral name of American, English and French origin. It has 2 letters and 1 syllable, starting with J and ending in “-jo”. US birth records list Jo for girls from 1881 to 2025, in 144 of those 145 years. Its best year was 1947, when it ranked #51 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #3,975, with 36 babies. Of the 44 US babies named Jo in 2025, 82% were girls and 18% were boys.

Origin:American namesEnglish namesFrench namesHebrew names