Baby Names US
girls' name ★ peaked 1954

Jo

Gender Girl · 1% boys Rank 2025 #4,028 Trend → Stable

Clipping or hypochoristic form of various female given names beginning with Jo..., primarily Joan, Joanna, etc. but also Josephine and Jolene.

Rank 2025
#4,028
among girls · ↑219 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
44
named Jo · -2% vs 2024
How common
1 in 44,646
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1954
8,077 babies
All-time total
180,911
#223 all-time among girls
First recorded
1881
in Social Security records

Jo popularity over time

180,911 babies have been named Jo since 1881, 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
1.252.53.75518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

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 69 – 69 7 – #621
1890s 140 – 140 14 +103% #710
1900s 311 – 311 31 +122% #548
1910s 1,192 74 1,266 127 +307% #437
1920s 6,896 165 7,061 706 +458% #140
1930s 28,653 278 28,931 2,893 +310% #70
1940s 48,449 273 48,722 4,872 +68% #51
1950s 63,939 284 64,223 6,422 +32% #53
1960s 20,197 206 20,403 2,040 -68% #134
1970s 5,918 176 6,094 609 -70% #272
1980s 1,985 153 2,138 214 -65% #540
1990s 609 77 686 69 -68% #1,725
2000s 223 80 303 30 -56% #4,329
2010s 246 52 298 30 -2% #3,758
2020s (to 2025) 230 36 266 44 +49% #3,400

Where Jo is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (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 girls Implied rank
2026 36 0.02 outside top 500
2027 36 0.02 outside top 500
2028 37 0.02 outside top 500
2029 37 0.02 outside top 500
2030 37 0.02 outside top 500

The story of Jo

Jo is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #4,028 in 2025 with 36 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1881, 180,911 American babies have been named Jo. Its peak came in 1954, when 8,077 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1950s.

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 Jo stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Jo?

The median living Jo is about 72 years old; half are between 66 and 78. An estimated 121 thousand people named Jo are alive in the United States today.

median 72 020406080100

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

Jo 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 36 #4,028 8 #9,273
2024 34 #4,247 11 #7,485
2023 47 #3,400 9 #8,555
2022 36 #4,075 – –
2021 42 #3,641 – –
2020 35 #4,048 8 #9,098
2019 34 #4,209 – –
2018 40 #3,758 6 #11,421
2017 40 #3,808 9 #8,472
2016 34 #4,298 7 #10,177
2015 27 #5,043 – –
2014 18 #6,842 6 #11,374
2013 15 #7,950 – –
2012 18 #6,987 11 #7,275
2011 14 #8,395 6 #11,496
2010 6 #15,876 7 #10,174
2009 18 #7,185 – –
2008 17 #7,557 7 #10,420
2007 18 #7,234 12 #6,846
2006 25 #5,453 7 #10,084
2005 17 #6,975 – –
2004 18 #6,616 9 #7,842
2003 29 #4,467 11 #6,470
2002 29 #4,329 12 #5,892
2001 28 #4,372 8 #7,896
2000 24 #4,870 14 #5,166
1995 58 #2,293 6 #8,282
1990 85 #1,725 6 #7,579
1985 171 #926 21 #2,463
1980 349 #540 17 #2,786
1975 520 #392 13 #2,990
1970 1,103 #272 27 #1,676
1965 1,852 #183 12 #2,414
1960 3,371 #134 40 #1,246
1955 7,656 #58 33 #1,326
1950 5,676 #64 31 #1,303
1945 4,224 #60 32 #1,173
1940 3,427 #72 23 #1,419
1935 3,296 #73 34 #1,132
1930 1,871 #131 35 #1,206
1925 635 #264 14 #2,261
1920 231 #444 25 #1,528
1915 128 #571 10 #2,538
1910 40 #676 – –
1905 34 #606 – –
1900 24 #753 – –
1895 11 #1,017 – –
1890 7 #1,146 – –
1885 11 #676 – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Jo

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

  1. 1 Jo Cox Jo Cox British politician (1974–2016) Contemporary
  2. 2 Jo Nesbø Jo Nesbø Norwegian writer and musician (born 1960) Contemporary
  3. 3 Jo Jung-suk Jo Jung-suk South Korean actor (born 1980) Contemporary
  4. 4 Jo Van Fleet Jo Van Fleet American actress (1915–1996) Contemporary
  5. 5 Jo Swinson Jo Swinson Scottish politician (born 1980) Contemporary
  6. 6 Jo Stafford Jo Stafford American singer (1917–2008) Contemporary
  7. 7 Jo Jo White Jo Jo White American basketball player (1946–2018) Contemporary
  8. 8 Jo Jones Jo Jones American jazz drummer (1911–1985) Contemporary
  9. 9 Jo Walton Jo Walton Canadian writer and poet (born 1964) Contemporary
  10. 10 Jo Siffert Jo Siffert Swiss racing driver (1936–1971) Contemporary
  11. 11 Jo Bonnier Jo Bonnier Swedish racing driver (1930–1972) Contemporary
  12. 12 Jo Schlesser Jo Schlesser French racing driver (1928–1968) Contemporary
  13. 13 Jo Pavey Jo Pavey British long-distance runner b. 1973 · Contemporary
  14. 14 Jo Gartner Austrian racing driver (1954–1986) Contemporary
  15. 15 Jo Bonfrère Jo Bonfrère Dutch footballer and manager (born 1946) Contemporary
  16. 16 Jo Cals Jo Cals Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1965 to 1966 1914–1971 · Contemporary
  17. 17 Jo In-sung Jo In-sung South Korean actor (born 1981) Contemporary
  18. 18 Jo Benkow Jo Benkow Norwegian politician and writer 1924–2013 · Contemporary
  19. 19 Jo Vonlanthen Swiss racing driver (born 1942) Contemporary
  20. 20 Jo Kanazawa Jo Kanazawa Japanese footballer b. 1976 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Jo?

The median living Jo is about 72 years old. Half of all living Jos are between 66 and 78 years old.

How many people named Jo are alive today?

An estimated 121 thousand people named Jo are alive in the United States, based on 180,911 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Jo mean?

Clipping or hypochoristic form of various female given names beginning with Jo..., primarily Joan, Joanna, etc. but also Josephine and Jolene.

How popular is the name Jo in 2025?

Jo ranked #4,028 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 36 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Jo?

180,911 babies have been named Jo in the United States since 1881, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Jo most popular?

Jo peaked in 1954, when 8,077 newborns received the name.

Is Jo a boy or girl name?

Jo is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Jo rising or falling?

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

Will Jo become more popular?

Jo looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 37 girls named Jo in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Jo?

Well-known people named Jo include Jo Cox (politician), Jo Nesbø (writer), Jo Jung-suk (actor).

Names like Jo

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

Compare Jo with similar names → More names starting with J →