Bo (given name)
Bo is a given name of Norse and Chinese origin.[1]
Background
[edit]The Norse roots of Bo are in the Scandinavian languages Danish, Norwegian, Swedish. It is associated with the present-day Scandinavian word 'bo', meaning "live", as in exist/living (related to life), and reside/nest (related to dwelling). Bo is also short for names such as Beaufort, Beauregard, Bonita, or Bonnie; it is also a less common shortening of the name Robert, which is usually shortened to Bob. It can also be a shortening of the name James, which is usually shortened to Jimmy, Jim, or Jimbo.
The Chinese given name Bo can be spelled as Bō.[1] The meaning can be 波 (bō) "wave" and other meanings depending on the Chinese characters used.[1] It is also a common Chinese surname.
People with the name
[edit]Notable people with the name include:
Given name
[edit]- Bo Anderson, birth name of American Brazilian DJ and producer Maga Bo
- Bo Bergman (1869–1967), Swedish poet
- Bo Bichette (born 1998), Major League Baseball player
- Bo Boustedt (1868–1939), Swedish Army lieutenant general
- Bo Bowling (born 1987), American football player
- Bo Carpelan (1926–2011), Finnish poet and author
- Bo Danske, 13th-century Danish philosopher
- Bo Ehnbom (1899–1985), Swedish military engineer
- Bo Ericson (athlete) (1919–1970), Swedish hammer thrower
- Bo Goldman (1932–2023), American writer, Broadway playwright, and screenwriter
- Bo Hamburger (born 1970), Danish cyclist
- Bo Hansson (1943–2010), Swedish musician
- Bo Holmberg (1942–2010), Swedish politician
- Bo Horvat (1995), Canadian ice hockey player
- Bo Johansson (born 1942), Swedish former football player and current football coach
- Bo Larsson (1944–2023), Swedish football midfielder/striker
- Bo Ljungberg (1911–1984), Swedish pole vaulter
- Bo Melton (born 1999), American football player
- Bo Levi Mitchell (born 1990), Canadian football quarterback
- Bo Mossberg, Swedish author and illustrator of Den nya nordiska floran
- Bo Nickal (born 1996), American wrestler and mixed martial artist
- Bo Nix (born 2000), American football quarterback
- Bo Persson (table tennis), Swedish table tennis player
- Bo Petersson, (born 1946), Swedish football manager and former football player
- Bo Randall (1909–1989), American knifemaker
- Bo Johan Renck (born 1966), Swedish director of music videos, TV and film
- Bo Richter (born 2000), American football player
- Bo Rybeck (1935–2019), Swedish physician
- Bo Scarbrough (born 1996), American football player
- Bo Svenson (born 1941), Swedish-born American actor
- Bo Svensson (born 1979), Danish football player
- Bo Toresson (born 1939), Swedish politician
- Bo Varenius (1918–1996), Swedish major general
- Bo Vestergaard (born 1965), Danish lightweight rower
- Bo Widerberg (1930–1997), Swedish film director
- Htun Aeindra Bo, Burmese actress and singer born Mi Mi Khine in 1966
Nickname
[edit]- Bo Belinsky (1936–2001), American Major League Baseball pitcher
- Bo Bice (born 1975), American singer who placed second on the fourth season of American Idol
- Bo Bruce (born 1984), English singer-songwriter
- Gudmundur S. (Bo) Bodvarsson (1952–2006), Icelandic hydrogeologist
- Bo Bolinger (1932–2011), American football player
- Jérôme Napoléon Bonaparte (1805–1870), American farmer, son of Napoleon Bonaparte's brother Jérôme and Elizabeth Patterson
- Bo Brown (1906–1996), American cartoonist
- Bo Burnham (born 1990), American singer songwriter/comedian
- Bo Burris (born 1944), American National Football League player
- Bo Callaway (1927–2014), American politician and businessman
- Bo Cornell (born 1949), American National Football League player
- Israel "Bo" Curtis (1932–2012), African-American educator and politician
- Bo Derek (born 1956), American actress
- Bo Diddley (1928–2008), American R&B and Chicago blues musician
- Bo Dupp, a ring name, along with Otto Schwanz, of American professional wrestler William Happer (born 1972)
- Bo Goldman (1932–2023), American writer, Broadway playwright, and screenwriter
- Bo Gritz (born 1939), American former US Army officer and perennial candidate
- Bo Halldórsson (born 1951), Icelandic pop singer
- Bo Hines (born 1995), American football player and politician
- Bo Hopkins (1938–2022), American actor
- Bo Horvat (born 1995), Canadian hockey player
- Bo Jackson (born 1962), American National Football League and Major League Baseball player
- Bo Kimble (born 1966), American basketball player
- Bo Lamar (born 1951), American basketball player
- Bo McCalebb (born 1985), American-Macedonian professional basketball player
- Bo Mitchell (born 1970), representative in the Tennessee House of Representatives
- Bo Outlaw (born 1971), American National Basketball Association player
- Bo Pelini (born 1967), American college football head coach
- Bo Rein (1945–1980), American, football player, baseball player, and football coach
- Bo Roberson (1935–2001), American, track and field athlete, and football player
- Bo Robinson (born 1956), American National Football League player
- Bo Ryan (born 1947), American college basketball coach and former player
- Bo Schembechler (1929–2006), American football player, college head coach and administrator
- Bo Snerdley, pseudonym of James Golden (radio personality)
- Bo Songvisava (born 1979/1980), Thai chef
- Bo Welch (born 1951), American production designer, art director, film and TV director, actor
Chinese given name Bō
[edit]- Chu Bo (born 1944), Chinese politician
- Hu Bo (1988–2017), Chinese film director
- Qiu Bo (born 1993), Chinese diver
- Sun Bo (born 1961), Chinese business executive and engineer
Fictional characters
[edit]- Bo Adams, main character in the Believe TV series
- Bo Abobo from the video game Double Dragon
- Bo, a character from the video game Brawl Stars
- Bo Brady, in the soap opera Days of Our Lives
- Bo Buchanan, in the soap opera One Life to Live
- Bo Callahan, main draft prospect in the movie Draft Day
- Bo Cocky, the main protagonist in the 2006 film Supertwink
- Bo (Lost Girl) (Bo Dennis), protagonist of the Canadian TV series Lost Girl
- Bo Duke, one of the main characters in The Dukes of Hazzard TV series
- Bo Monkey, a main character in the Nickelodeon TV series Fresh Beat Band of Spies
- Bo Orlov, a character in the Netflix series Grand Army
- Little Bo Peep, from a nursery rhyme
- Bo Peep, in the Toy Story animated film
- Bo' Rai Cho, in the Mortal Kombat video game series
- Bo Sheep, in the U.S. Acres comic strip
- Bo Sinclair, in the 2005 film House of Wax
- Bo, a cheetah from the British animated TV series Mama Mirabelle's Home Movies
- Bo, a cartoon character in Muse magazine
- Bo, an orphan named "Boniface" in the Cornelia Funke novel The Thief Lord
- Bo, the main protagonist of the 2017 animated film The Star
- Bo Hess from the movie Signs
See also
[edit]- Beau (name), given name and surname