first name
JO
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 57,903 people named Jo, 82.9% reported their origin as White, 7.4% as Black and 4.5% as Hispanic or Latino. 94.7% are female. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
What should your name go on next?
Thanks! We'll make the most-wanted one next.
Jo peaked in 1954, when 8,077 babies got the name.
At least 180,911 babies have been given the name since 1881. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.
Jo by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1940s, when it ranked #119. The largest share of babies named Jo, 56.2%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).
Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.
Where Jo is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Jo has been most common in Arkansas (2.2×), Oklahoma (2.1×), and West Virginia (2×), and least common in Nevada (0.26×).
175,578 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.
Spelled almost the same
7 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Jo, most common first.
Also a last name
As a last name, Jo ranks #7,128 of 156,621, with 4,518 people. See Jo as a last name
Compare
🔎 JO 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦⬜⬜⬜ 1 in 5,216 Americans Rarer than 67.1% of us Peaked in 1954 with 8,077 babies Beat that 👇 https://howrareismy.name/first/jo/