Bo, Bo, Bo
You guys are totally cracking me up today.After I wondered if there had ever been another "Bo" in Sweden, I received not one, not two, but six e-mails about the subject.
From Fredrik Skarstedt:
Just wanted to say that although Bo has fallen out of favor in recent years, it’s still quite common in Sweden. It’s more of a baby boomer generation name.
People named Bo usually go by the nickname “Bosse” instead.
From Jarod Werbick:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_Hansson
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_Jonsson_Grip
Among others…there is a ‘rising poker star’ named Bo from Sweden as well…seems like a not-uncommon name.
From Mike Stortz:
Bo Svenson?
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004149/
From Johan Nillson:
Actually Bo, as in Gizmondo Bo, is quite common in Sweden. Especially in my father's generation which would be the baby boomers born directly after the end of WWII.
In fact, for the longest time I didn't think anyone was named Bo outside of Sweden (Bo Derek was just a freak coincidence).
From Joel Stein:
I'm sure you will hear from your international contingent on this...but I had a colleague in Sweden who was "Bo". It was short for "Bosse". I know 25 or so males in Sweden, and one is Bo.
I have no idea of the popularity of the name, but in my sample, it is 4%.
From Dave Tyrrell:
Bo Hansson, 1970’s synthesizer bloke, produced an album called ‘Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings’. It’s actually quite good, I got a copy of it on CD round the house somewhere.
Bo Larsson, 1970’s Swedish soccer international – I remember seeing him in the 1974 World Cup (vaguely, I was 7 at the time).
From John Dilallo:
I think "Bo" may be a common Swedish name. The great Bo Hansson inspired Jimi Hendrix and made an incredible Lord of the Rings instrumental album.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_Hansson
That's a fascinating Wikipedia article, by the way.
Finally, here's the definitive answer from Kadunta:
Sorry if that was meant as a rhetorical question... but here's the answer. A search in the Swedish Wikipedia for "Bo" (http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_%28namn%29 ) tells that Dec 31st 2005 there were 91,835 Swedes by the name "Bo". For 48,158 of them their given name was Bo.
Swedish isn't my mother tongue (I'm a Finn), so translation errors are quite possible and even likely. Still, the answer to your question is a resounding "Yes".
The name means "bofast", which an online Swedish-English dictionary translates as "resident, domiciled".
The first recorded instance of the name (or the original form it? I don't really know based on that page alone) in Sweden is found in rune stone carvings from around year 1000 or so, claims Wikipedia.
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