Fun Facts About the Name Ivo
- 853 babies named Ivo: U.S. records list 853 babies given the name Ivo from 1880 through 2025. Even 5 girls received the name Ivo - about 1 girl for every 170 boys.
What Does the Name Ivo Mean?
Ivo is a masculine given name with two separate sources. In the Germanic languages it goes back to the element *īwa-, meaning "yew," the evergreen tree. That word appears as Old High German īwa, Old English īw (the ancestor of the modern English word yew), and Old Norse ýr. Read literally, the name means "yew."
In Croatian, Czech, Slovak, and Slovene, Ivo is also an independent short form of Ivan, the Slavic form of John. That name reaches back through Greek Ioannes to Hebrew Yochanan, conventionally explained as "God is gracious." This Slavic use is a familiar shortening of a longer name, not a development of the Germanic "yew" name, so the two meanings should not be merged into one etymology.
The Latin form Ivo is the usual source given for the French name Yves. The similar-looking Slavic Ivan and the Norse compound name Ívarr are related to Ivo only in part, if at all, and are best treated separately.
Ivo Name History & Origins
The Germanic name is documented in medieval Latin as Ivo. It was borne by Ivo, bishop of Chartres (died 1115), a canon lawyer whose letters and legal work were widely copied, and by Saint Ivo of Kermartin (1253 - 1303), a lawyer and parish priest in Brittany who was later named patron of lawyers. Devotion to the Breton saint helped establish the name in France in its French form, Yves.
In the Slavic-speaking lands, Ivo grew up separately as an everyday pet form of Ivan and eventually became a given name in its own right. It is common in Croatia and is also used in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Slovenia, with related short forms such as Ivica and the feminine Iva. The Croatian writer Ivo Andrić, who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1961, is among the best-known bearers.
The Germanic name element for "yew" is also the reconstructed name of the Elder Futhark rune *Eihwaz, and the tree's wood was valued for making bows, an association that often accompanies explanations of the name. In Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Scandinavia, and Estonia, Ivo is used as a given name, generally from the Germanic root rather than the Slavic one.
How Popular is the Name Ivo?
Ivo has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1922. Its best rank was #1,167 in 1894.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1918 | #5,176 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #7,370 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2024 | #5,292 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 2023 | #5,323 | 18 | 0.0011% |
| 2022 | #5,517 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2021 | #5,424 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2020 | #9,956 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2019 | #6,562 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2018 | #5,633 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2017 | #6,151 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2016 | #7,329 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2015 | #5,838 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2014 | #7,785 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2013 | #9,118 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2012 | #6,447 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2011 | #8,327 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2010 | #6,835 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2009 | #7,926 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2008 | #6,915 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2007 | #6,035 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2006 | #7,646 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2005 | #7,330 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2004 | #6,709 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2003 | #7,489 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2002 | #7,938 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2001 | #6,642 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1998 | #6,511 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1997 | #7,598 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1995 | #6,623 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1994 | #9,380 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1993 | #5,150 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1992 | #6,964 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1991 | #6,822 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1990 | #8,647 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1988 | #4,571 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1987 | #7,424 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1986 | #6,254 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1984 | #6,734 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1981 | #6,685 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1978 | #4,315 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1977 | #6,247 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1973 | #3,855 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1972 | #3,236 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1971 | #3,488 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1970 | #3,383 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1969 | #3,743 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1968 | #4,392 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1967 | #4,226 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1964 | #3,142 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1963 | #3,462 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1961 | #3,211 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1960 | #3,483 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1959 | #4,260 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1958 | #3,707 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1957 | #3,386 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1954 | #4,080 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1953 | #4,060 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1949 | #3,950 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1947 | #3,986 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1943 | #3,775 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1941 | #3,307 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1940 | #3,689 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1939 | #3,719 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1938 | #3,336 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1936 | #3,341 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1935 | #2,621 | 9 | 0.0009% |
| 1934 | #2,653 | 9 | 0.0009% |
| 1933 | #3,139 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1932 | #2,047 | 14 | 0.0013% |
| 1931 | #2,761 | 9 | 0.0009% |
| 1930 | #2,686 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1929 | #2,852 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1928 | #3,226 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1927 | #2,802 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1926 | #2,025 | 16 | 0.0014% |
| 1925 | #1,966 | 17 | 0.0015% |
| 1924 | #2,921 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1923 | #2,390 | 13 | 0.0012% |
| 1922 | #1,852 | 19 | 0.0017% |
| 1921 | #2,889 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1920 | #2,527 | 12 | 0.0011% |
| 1919 | #2,430 | 12 | 0.0012% |
| 1918 | #2,328 | 13 | 0.0013% |
| 1917 | #1,941 | 16 | 0.0017% |
| 1916 | #2,461 | 11 | 0.0012% |
| 1915 | #2,532 | 10 | 0.0012% |
| 1914 | #1,648 | 15 | 0.0023% |
| 1913 | #1,629 | 12 | 0.0023% |
| 1912 | #2,141 | 7 | 0.0016% |
| 1900 | #1,408 | 5 | 0.0033% |
| 1894 | #1,167 | 5 | 0.0043% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Ivo Shapes Your Personality and Life?
Your tendency is to finish whatever you start. You like to use the pen or the needle (writing, fashion design etc). You are loving, compassionate, intuitive and humanitarian. Runs of luck, either good or bad, follow you. You are sympathetic, but at times might be touchy and oversensitive. You may have a gift for writing. You are intuitive and might be interested in the arts, drama or science.
You are always looking for a chance to do your own thing, to be your own person, and to have things done your own way.
✦ Ivo's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Ivo's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.