Jo
A pet form of Joseph, from Hebrew Yosef, “he will add.”
Popularity, 1880–2025
Jo first shows up in the national records in 1881. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American girls in every year from 1933 to 1958. Its biggest year was 1954, when 8,052 newborn girls received the name, ranking it No. 53 nationally. Its best ranking came in 1947, at No. 51. All told, 180,911 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Joe (464,574), Joey (61,402) (total births since 1880)
Other names that share a story: Joseph
Explore Jo interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 69 | No. 606 |
| 1890s | 140 | No. 695 |
| 1900s | 311 | No. 546 |
| 1910s | 1,192 | No. 437 |
| 1920s | 6,896 | No. 140 |
| 1930s | 28,653 | No. 70 |
| 1940s | 48,449 | No. 51 |
| 1950s | 63,939 | No. 53 |
| 1960s | 20,197 | No. 134 |
| 1970s | 5,918 | No. 272 |
| 1980s | 1,985 | No. 540 |
| 1990s | 609 | No. 1716 |
| 2000s | 223 | No. 4280 |
| 2010s | 246 | No. 3739 |
| 2020s | 230 | No. 3386 |
Births and rank shown for girls, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.