Mo
An English masculine diminutive of Morris or Maurice of Germanic origin.
Name Census estimates that about 27 living Americans carry the first name Mo. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 74.1% of registrations being male. The average person named Mo today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mo births was 2016 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mo. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Mo. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
27
~ 1 in 12,694,605 Americans
Peak year
2016
14 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2023 SSA rank
#11,781
Tracked since 2013
Gender
Gender distribution for Mo
Mo is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 27 total registrations, 20 (74.1%) were male and 7 (25.9%) were female.
Mo as a male name
- Ranked #11,781 in 2023
- 6 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2013 (7 births)
Mo as a female name
- Ranked #13,897 in 2016
- 7 female births in 2016
- Peak: 2016 (7 births)
Popularity
Mo: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mo from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 21 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mo 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 Mo during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mo
The name Mo originates from various cultures and has a rich history spanning several centuries. It is a diminutive form of the name Mohammed, which is derived from the Arabic word 'mahmud' meaning 'praiseworthy' or 'blessed'. Mohammed is one of the most popular names in the Islamic world, as it was the name of the Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam.
Mo can also be a shortened version of other names such as Moses, derived from the Hebrew 'Moshe' meaning 'drawn out of water'. In the Bible, Moses was a prophet who led the Israelites out of Egypt and received the Ten Commandments from God.
The earliest recorded use of the name Mo dates back to the 7th century AD, during the rise of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula. One of the first notable figures with this name was Mo'awiya I, the founder of the Umayyad Caliphate, who ruled from 661 to 680 AD.
In the 12th century, Mo Tzu, a Chinese philosopher and the founder of the school of Mohism, was a prominent figure known for his teachings on universal love and the condemnation of offensive warfare.
During the Renaissance period, Mo Yan was a renowned Chinese novelist and short story writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2012 for his works that merge folk tales, history, and contemporary life.
In the 20th century, Mo Farah, a British long-distance runner of Somali descent, won multiple Olympic and World Championship gold medals in the 5,000 and 10,000-meter events, making him one of the most successful track athletes of all time.
Another notable figure with the name Mo is Mo Ibrahim, a Sudanese-British businessman and philanthropist, who established the Mo Ibrahim Foundation to support good governance and leadership in Africa.
Throughout history, the name Mo has been associated with various cultures, religions, and significant figures, reflecting its diverse origins and the diverse experiences of those who have borne this name.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Mo
People
Mo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mo as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Mo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 27 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mo 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 12,694,605 US residents.
Is Mo a common name?
We classify Mo as "Very Rare". It ranks above 44.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 27 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mo most popular?
The single biggest year for Mo was 2016, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mo is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Mo a male name?
Yes, 74.1% of people registered as Mo 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.
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.