# Bo (given name)

Bo is a given name of Norse and Chinese origin.

## 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, 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. 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 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 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

* 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

* 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

* 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
* Bo, the main protagonist in the animated TV show Bo on the Go!