Bo is a given name of Norse and Chinese origin.
Contents
Background
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, Bonnie, Robert, or James.
The Chinese given name Bo can be spelled as Bō. The meaning can be 波 (bō) "wave" and other meanings depending on the Chinese characters used. It is also a common Chinese surname.
People with the name
Notable people with the name include:
Given name
Bo Allan (born 2006), Australian footballer
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 Bragason (born 2004), English actress
Bo Brasseur (born 1998), Belgian long jumper
Bo Brinkman (born 1956), American actor, director, and producer
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 Gunge (born 1964), Danish composer
Bo Hamburger (born 1970), Danish cyclist
Bo Hansson (1943–2010), Swedish musician
Bo Holmberg (1942–2010), Swedish politician
Nickname
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
Bo Bolinger (1932–2011), American football player
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
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 (1939–2026), American US Army officer, and perennial candidate
Bo Halldórsson (born 1951), Icelandic pop singer
Bo Hines (born 1995), American football player and politician
Chinese given name Bō
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
Chinese surname Bo
Bo Xilai, Chinese former politician
Fictional characters
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 franchise
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