Bo is a Scandinavian name from the Old Norse búa, "to live" or "to dwell", and so means "resident" or "dweller"; in the United States it is just as often a short form of Beau, Robert or Beauregard. Football and baseball star Bo Jackson gave it an all-American athletic image. Bo has been in the US top 1000 since 2000, when it ranked number 978, and has climbed to number 449 in 2025, its highest rank so far.