What is Mo short for?
Mo is short for Muhammad, Maurice, Moses and Maureen.
The meeting point
Three religions' foundational names meet at two letters.
Muhammad · short for Muhammad, from the root hamida, "to praise": Mo Farah, Mo Salah (source)
Maurice · short for Maurice, from the Latin Maurus, "Moorish": Mo Rocca was born Maurice Alberto (source)
Moses · short for Moses, most likely from the Egyptian mes, "son" (the popular "drawn out of the water" story is probably an invented etymology): Moe Howard of the Three Stooges was born Moses Harry Horwitz (source)
The names behind Mo
Each count is the number of children given that name in the United States in 2025, from US Social Security records. A name given to fewer than five children in a year is left out of the published file.
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