Bo
A short Scandinavian name meaning "to dwell" or "to live".
Name Census estimates that about 14,655 living Americans carry the first name Bo. It sits at #451 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It is a predominantly male name (94.5% of registrations). The average person named Bo today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bo births was 2024 (708 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bo. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Bo with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
15K
~ 1 in 23,388 Americans
Peak year
2024
708 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#451
Tracked since 1907
Census
Bo in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 18,831 people with the first name Bo, which placed it at #1,662 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#1,662
National first-name rank
People counted
19K
18,831 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
6.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
57.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bo
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bo is White at 57.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (31.9%) and Hispanic (3.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Bo described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Bo at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.8% · 10,876
- Asian and Pacific Islander31.9% · 6,012
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 727
- Two or more races3.2% · 600
- Black or African American2.3% · 441
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 175
Gender
Gender distribution for Bo
Bo leans heavily male at 94.5% of total registrations, but 834 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Bo as a male name
- Ranked #451 in 2024
- 692 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (692 births)
Bo as a female name
- Ranked #6,958 in 2024
- 16 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (42 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bo leans strongly male. 16,006 people counted with this name were male (85.0%), compared with 2,827 female bearers (15.0%).
Popularity
Bo: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bo from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 4,088 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Bo remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bo by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Bo during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Bos live
The SSA's state-level files cover 44 states and territories. Texas, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Bo, while Nevada, New Hampshire, Maine recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 259 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Bo
The name Bo has its origins in several different cultures and languages around the world. It is believed to have first emerged as a diminutive or nickname form of longer names in various regions.
In Scandinavian countries, Bo is a shortened version of the Old Norse name Böðvarr, which means "messenger of war" or "warrior." This name was commonly used in ancient Viking societies and can be found in Norse sagas and historical records.
In China, Bo is a common surname that can also be used as a given name. It is derived from the Chinese character "波," which means "wave" or "ripple." The name has been used in Chinese culture for centuries and is found in various historical texts and records.
In Vietnam, Bo is a diminutive form of the name Bảo, which means "precious" or "treasure." It has been a popular name in Vietnamese culture for many generations.
In India, Bo is sometimes used as a short form of the Sanskrit name Bodhi, which means "enlightenment" or "awakening." This name has significant importance in Buddhist traditions and is found in various religious texts and scriptures.
Some notable historical figures with the name Bo include:
1. Bo Diddley (1928-2008), an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter, known as a founding father of rock and roll.
2. Bo Guagua (born 1987), the son of former Chinese politician Bo Xilai, who gained notoriety during his father's political scandal.
3. Bo Burnham (born 1990), an American comedian, musician, and actor, known for his satirical comedy and social commentary.
4. Bo Jackson (born 1962), a former American professional baseball and football player, known for his exceptional athleticism in both sports.
5. Bo Svenson (born 1941), a Swedish-American actor and martial artist, best known for his roles in various action films and TV shows.
While the name Bo has diverse roots and meanings across different cultures, it has been used throughout history as a shortened or diminutive form of longer names, often carrying connotations of strength, valor, or enlightenment.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Bo
People
Bo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bo as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Bo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 14,655 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bo going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 23,388 US residents.
Is Bo a common name?
We classify Bo as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 15,116 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bo most popular?
The single biggest year for Bo was 2024, when 708 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bo is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Bo in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 18,831 people with the name Bo, or 6.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,662 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Bo in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Bo?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bo leans strongly male. 16,006 people counted with this name were male (85.0%), compared with 2,827 female bearers (15.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Bo?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bo is White at 57.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (31.9%) and Hispanic (3.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Bo most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Bo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.8% (10,876 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Bo in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bo a male name?
Yes, 94.5% of people registered as Bo in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Bo still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bo in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Bo can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Bo?
See how many people have the name Bo on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.