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Bo

girl name
Origin
Cantonese
Syllables
1
Peak era
Rare
Today
▬ Steady

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Meaning

treasure or precious object (寶)

The story

Bo in this collection represents 寶, a character read in Cantonese and associated with treasure or a precious object. The character is the evidence. The same Latin spelling can point to another Chinese character, while the same written character can appear under a different romanization elsewhere. Hong Kong names are normally written in characters and receive a romanized form for English-language settings. Bo is a one-character given name, a compact pattern beside the more common two-character form. Its page's US curve stays near the floor and shows only a faint recent trace. That does not measure how familiar the name is in Hong Kong; it measures what American birth records can see. The honest story therefore begins with 寶, not with an English-looking syllable. In that documented form, Bo carries a small, clear idea chosen to travel across scripts.

More names with stories →

How popular is Bo around the world?

In the United States, 3,944 babies were named Bo between 2020 and 2025. In Norway, 45 boys were given the name Bo in 2025.

Bo is on the official records of the United States, Norway, Canada, South Australia, England and Wales, Spain and Brazil.

United States

1 in 5,500

In the United States, 3,944 babies were named Bo between 2020 and 2025.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

Norway

1 in 620 · register 2026

In Norway, 45 boys were given the name Bo in 2025.

1945peak 2025

share of the boys on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure

People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)

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Canada

1 in 4,500

In Canada, 82 boys named Bo were born in 2024, the 396th most common name among boys that year.

1991peak 2022

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)

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South Australia

1 in 18,000 · 2017

In South Australia, 1 boy was registered as Bo in 2017.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.

Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names

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England and Wales

1 in 34,000

In England and Wales, 12 boys named Bo were born in 2025, ranked 2,014th among boys that year.
In England and Wales, 5 girls named Bo were born in 2025, ranked 4,201st among girls that year.

1996peak 20122025

share of that year’s name registrations

Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales

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Spain

1 in 130,000

In Spain, 283 residents are named Bo, ranked 3,515th among men, with a mean age of 37.8 years.

Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025

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Austria

last on record 2024

Bo is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.

Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)

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Brazil

At the 2022 census, 48 people in Brazil were named Bo, ranked 68,557th, with a median age of 41.

People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022

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Ireland

last on record 2023

Bo is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.

Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names

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Mexico City City

last on record 2020

Bo is not on the 2022 record for Mexico City, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.

Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023

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Montevideo City

last on record 1994

Bo is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.

Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial

See the full list for Montevideo →

New Zealand

last on record 2016

Bo is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.

2010peak 20162025

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time

See the full list for New Zealand →

Scotland

last on record 2020

Bo is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.

Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names

See the full list for Scotland →

Not on the record in Argentina, Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.

Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown.

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

When you meet Bo

Most people given the name Bo in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.

Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.

Names that fit alongside Bo

Mila Pui Pui Remy Ji-min Margot Cheuk-Ying

Where Bo travels

Chinese · abundant, erudite (博)

Keep exploring

Chinese baby names · Cantonese and Hong Kong baby names · Short names

The Bo deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Bo truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Bo fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

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