Jo

Jo: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“Yahweh is gracious”
Origin
Hebrew
Say it
JOH · 1 syllable
Used for
Girls

Short form of Joann, Joanne, Josephine, or similar names. In many cases it ultimately reflects the Hebrew element יוֹ relating to the divine name, or the base meaning of Joanna from Yohanan.

How popular is Jo?

202413.2 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Jo in 202444

2024 rank#4,282 girls

Peak year1954

Total US babies since 1880180,866

Jo is rising: use over the last five years is 2.4× what it was a decade earlier.

Names like Jo

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • JoelleYahweh is God · Hebrew
  • JoannGod is gracious · Hebrew
  • Elizabethmy God is an oath · Hebrew
  • Elianamy God has answered · Hebrew
  • Abigailmy father is joy · Hebrew
  • Naomipleasantness · Hebrew
  • Hannahgrace; favor · Hebrew
  • Maryuncertain, traditionally beloved or bitter · Hebrew

Jo questions

What does the name Jo mean?

Jo means "Yahweh is gracious". It comes from Hebrew. Short form of Joann, Joanne, Josephine, or similar names. In many cases it ultimately reflects the Hebrew element יוֹ relating to the divine name, or the base meaning of Joanna from Yohanan.

Is Jo a boy or girl name?

Jo is mainly a girl's name in US records (99% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Jo?

44 US babies were named Jo in 2024. Its peak year was 1954.

How do you pronounce Jo?

Jo is usually pronounced JOH.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.