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Jo

girl name
Origin
Hebrew
Syllables
1
Peak era
1950s
Today
▬ Steady

Torn between Jo and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

diminutive of Joanna/Josephine, God is gracious

The story

Read the story of Joanna →

More names with stories →

The formal names behind Jo

Jo is an established short form of each of these names.

Joseph · Hebrew origin · he will add

Josephine · Hebrew origin · Jehovah increases

Joanna · Hebrew origin · feminine form of John, "Yahweh is gracious"

Johanna · German origin · God is gracious

Why we verify every short-form relationship →

How popular is Jo around the world?

In the United States, 266 babies were named Jo between 2020 and 2025. In Norway, 11 boys were given the name Jo in 2025.

Jo is on the official records of the United States, Norway and Brazil.

United States

1 in 82,000

In the United States, 266 babies were named Jo between 2020 and 2025.

1890speak 1950s2020s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Jo peaked in the 1950s.

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

See the full list for the United States →

Norway

1 in 2,600 · register 2026

In Norway, 11 boys were given the name Jo in 2025.

1945peak 19712025

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)

See the full list for Norway →

Brazil

1 in 56,000

At the 2022 census, 3,582 people in Brazil were named Jo, ranked 3,452nd, with a median age of 37.
Among people named Jo living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.

1930speak 1980s2010s

people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth

The census also counted 195 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. 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

See the full list for Brazil →

Austria

last on record 2022

Jo 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 2 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)

See the full list for Austria →

Canada

last on record 2021

Jo is not on the 2024 record for Canada, where names under 5 in a year are excluded at source.

1991peak 20032024

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)

See the full list for Canada →

England and Wales

last on record 2022

Jo is not on the 2025 record for England and Wales, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.

peak 19962025

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

See the full list for England and Wales →

Ireland

last on record 2018

Jo is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 7 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

See the full list for Ireland →

Mexico City City

last on record 2018

Jo is not on the 2022 record for Mexico City, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 4 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

See the full list for Mexico City →

New Zealand

last on record 1959

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

peak 19592025

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 2010

Jo is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.

1974peak 19992024

share of that year’s name registrations

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 →

South Australia

last on record 2014

Jo is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
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

See the full list for South Australia →

Not on the record in Spain, 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 Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. 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 Jo

Most people given the name Jo in the United States were born between 1940 and 1969. The Jo you meet today is most often in her 60s or 70s.

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

Names that fit alongside Jo

Sadie Annie Sally Molly Ruthie Betsy

Keep exploring

Short names · What is Jo short for?

Name trails: explore connections from Jo →

The Jo 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 Jo 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 Jo fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

Does Jo fit YOUR family?

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