Unisex name ★ peaked 2025

Bo

Gender Unisex · 5% girls Rank 2025 #449 Trend ↑ Rising 40%

Either borrowed from modern Danish Bo or Swedish Bo, or a spelling variant of the male given name Beau.

Rank 2025
#449
among boys · ↑3 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
728
named Bo · +3% vs 2024
How common
1 in 2,447
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2025
728 babies
All-time total
15,849
#973 all-time among boys
First recorded
1907
in Social Security records

Bo popularity over time

15,849 babies have been named Bo since 1907, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.130.250.380.518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – 5 5 1 – #1,365
1910s – 23 23 2 +360% #2,568
1920s 5 42 47 5 +104% #2,933
1930s – 24 24 2 -49% #3,052
1940s – 51 51 5 +113% #2,034
1950s – 140 140 14 +175% #1,625
1960s – 258 258 26 +84% #1,376
1970s 10 566 576 58 +123% #866
1980s 184 1,868 2,052 205 +256% #551
1990s 117 2,135 2,252 225 +10% #603
2000s 166 2,222 2,388 239 +6% #764
2010s 223 3,866 4,089 409 +71% #566
2020s (to 2025) 160 3,784 3,944 657 +61% #449

Where Bo is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 738 0.43 #433
2027 773 0.45 #415
2028 805 0.47 #396
2029 833 0.49 #380
2030 857 0.50 #372

Where Bo is most popular

Boys named Bo per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.377 per 1,000. Strongest in Montana, South Dakota, and Idaho.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Bo born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Montana 27 1.53 +306%
South Dakota 24 1.29 +242%
Idaho 50 1.22 +224%
Nebraska 50 1.15 +205%
Arkansas 70 1.11 +193%
Iowa 76 1.10 +192%
Oregon 77 1.01 +169%
Utah 95 0.995 +164%
Kansas 67 0.977 +159%
Mississippi 50 0.880 +133%
West Virginia 27 0.827 +119%
Alabama 90 0.823 +118%
Tennessee 148 0.820 +117%
Minnesota 97 0.791 +110%
Kentucky 78 0.777 +106%
Missouri 106 0.765 +103%
Oklahoma 63 0.712 +89%
Indiana 109 0.680 +80%
Ohio 180 0.679 +80%
Colorado 81 0.628 +66%
Wisconsin 72 0.608 +61%
Washington 88 0.538 +43%
Georgia 116 0.458 +21%
Pennsylvania 121 0.456 +21%
Michigan 90 0.439 +16%
Arizona 63 0.385 ≈ national
Illinois 94 0.368 ≈ national
North Dakota 6 0.351 -7%
Texas 251 0.285 -25%
Virginia 54 0.285 -25%
South Carolina 29 0.281 -26%
North Carolina 68 0.266 -29%
Maine 5 0.258 -32%
Maryland 29 0.243 -36%
Florida 113 0.239 -37%
California 211 0.231 -39%
Massachusetts 31 0.225 -40%
New Hampshire 5 0.225 -40%
New York 73 0.169 -55%
New Jersey 20 0.099 -74%
Connecticut 5 0.074 -80%
Louisiana 6 0.059 -84%
Alaska – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Rhode Island – – –
Vermont – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Bo

Bo is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #449 in 2025 with 698 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1907, 15,849 American babies have been named Bo, about 95% boys and 5% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2025, when 728 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Bo stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Bo?

The median living Bo is about 14 years old; half are between 5 and 32. An estimated 15 thousand people named Bo are alive in the United States today.

median 14 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Bo year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 30 #4,570 698 #449
2024 17 #6,679 692 #452
2023 22 #5,583 633 #478
2022 29 #4,689 614 #497
2021 42 #3,627 622 #480
2020 20 #5,894 525 #540
2019 31 #4,458 493 #566
2018 32 #4,369 483 #572
2017 21 #5,860 432 #610
2016 27 #5,020 453 #595
2015 17 #7,029 434 #618
2014 14 #8,127 414 #633
2013 26 #5,164 318 #733
2012 19 #6,642 290 #782
2011 18 #6,896 293 #764
2010 18 #6,954 256 #834
2009 16 #7,736 289 #784
2008 21 #6,385 262 #834
2007 21 #6,358 286 #767
2006 29 #4,838 268 #775
2005 20 #6,046 259 #764
2004 11 #9,356 204 #862
2003 20 #5,847 183 #909
2002 14 #7,494 159 #988
2001 9 #10,236 160 #958
2000 5 #15,389 152 #978
1995 10 #8,155 173 #813
1990 16 #5,588 277 #603
1985 17 #4,476 153 #715
1980 31 #2,873 232 #568
1975 – – 51 #1,183
1970 – – 25 #1,749
1965 – – 18 #1,863
1960 – – 27 #1,556
1955 – – 10 #2,586
1950 – – 9 #2,599
1945 – – 6 #3,021
1940 – – 5 #3,502
1935 – – 5 #3,703
1930 – – 8 #3,052
1925 – – 9 #2,954
1920 – – 8 #3,246
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Bo

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Bo Derek Bo Derek American actress (born 1956) Contemporary
  2. 2 Bo Burnham Bo Burnham American comedian and musician (born 1990) Contemporary
  3. 3 Bo Dallas Bo Dallas American professional wrestler (born 1990) Contemporary
  4. 4 Bo Diddley Bo Diddley American guitarist and singer (1928–2008) Contemporary
  5. 5 Bảo Đại Bảo Đại Last emperor of Vietnam from 1926 to 1945 (1913–1997) Contemporary
  6. 6 Bo Hopkins Bo Hopkins American actor (1938–2022) b. 1942 · Contemporary
  7. 7 Bo Xilai Bo Xilai Chinese former politician (born 1949) Contemporary
  8. 8 Bo Bice Bo Bice American singer and musician (born 1975) Contemporary
  9. 9 Bo Yibo Bo Yibo Chinese politician (1908–2007) Contemporary
  10. 10 Bo McCalebb Bo McCalebb American-Macedonian basketball player b. 1985 · Contemporary
  11. 11 Bo Widerberg Bo Widerberg Swedish film director, screenwriter, and film editor 1930–1997 · Contemporary
  12. 12 Bo Larsson Bo Larsson Swedish footballer (1944–2023) Contemporary
  13. 13 Bo Johansson Swedish footballer (born 1942) Contemporary
  14. 14 Bo Hamburger Bo Hamburger Danish cyclist b. 1970 · Contemporary
  15. 15 Bo Carpelan Bo Carpelan Finnish writer (1926–2011) Contemporary
  16. 16 Bo Ralph Bo Ralph Swedish linguist, Member of the Swedish Academy b. 1945 · Contemporary
  17. 17 Bo Ekelund Bo Ekelund Swedish high jumper 1894–1983 · 19th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Bo, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Bo?

The median living Bo is about 14 years old. Half of all living Bos are between 5 and 32 years old.

How many people named Bo are alive today?

An estimated 15 thousand people named Bo are alive in the United States, based on 15,849 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Bo mean?

Either borrowed from modern Danish Bo or Swedish Bo, or a spelling variant of the male given name Beau.

How popular is the name Bo in 2025?

Bo ranked #449 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 698 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Bo?

15,849 babies have been named Bo in the United States since 1907, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Bo most popular?

Bo peaked in 2025, when 728 newborns received the name.

Is Bo a boy or girl name?

Bo is used for both: about 5% of babies named Bo have been girls and 95% boys.

Is the name Bo rising or falling?

Bo is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Bo become more popular?

Bo is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 857 boys named Bo in 2030, which would rank around #372. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Bo?

Well-known people named Bo include Bo Derek (actor), Bo Burnham (comedian), Bo Dallas (wrestler).

Names like Bo

Names that sound and feel close to Bo: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Bo with similar names → More names starting with B →