By Kelli Brady, of  Name Freak!

　　My middle name is Joyce. I absolutely love it, not only because it is after my beloved grandmother, but also because it is lovely, versatile, and has a delightful meaning. And while I think it is perfectly splendid as a first name, as many parents in the 1930s and 1940s did, I personally love it in the middle spot. It is short, sweet and lends itself to be even shorter for nicknames… Sammy Jo, Sarah Joy, D.J., etc.

　　My family has loved to play around with it as a middle name. Grandma was born Natalie Joyce, but her name was changed to Maxine after she was adopted. My great-grandparents kept Joyce as her middle name because she brought them joy. She was actually named after my great-grandfather, Max, but ended up going by Joyce her entire life. My mom is Debra Joyce, but has been called Debby Jo by family, and almost exclusively Jo or Joey by her siblings (and therefore subsequently called Aunt Jo by my cousins). I am often called Kelli Jo or K.J. by family. My daughter is Rachel Joyce, and while she is not around my extended family often, she is getting used to being referred to as Ray Jo when she is around them.

　　But enough about me.

　　Maybe because of my experience though, I have always seen Joe/Jo as a truly unisex name. It is simply masculine as well as beautifully tomboyish. As seen in Name-alytics, Jo is the shortest name to ever be in the girls’ Top 100; it reached #51 in 1947 and the highest in its popularity in the 1950s. Joe, on the other hand, reached its highest rank at #20 in 1880 and the highest in its popularity in the 1900s. Jo has been given to boys and Joe has been given to girls, so they are not mutually exclusive.

　　For the purposes of this post, however, I am going to concentrate on the girl Jo‘s. In looking at the names given over the years, there is a lot of love for the *jo*s. Let’s take a look at the options out there!

　　

Beyond Jo

There are several names that can be shortened to Jo:

　　Joan

　　Jolynn

　　Joanna

　　Jonetta

　　Joanne

　　Joni

　　Jocelyn

　　Jordan

　　Jodi

　　Jorja

　　Joelle

　　Josefina

　　Joella

　　Josephine

　　Joellen

　　Josette

　　Joetta

　　Josie

　　Jojo

　　Journey

　　Jolie

　　Joy

　　Jolanda

　　Joyce

　　Jolene

　　Marjorie

　　Jolette

　　Sojourner

　　

Names Ending in Jo (or cases when Jo can be given as a middle name)

There have been many names in the SSA database that have ended in “jo”, but we would more commonly see them as a combo or hyphenated name…

　　Amandajo

　　Kellyjo

　　Amberjo

　　Kristijo

　　Amyjo

　　Kyliejo

　　Annajo

　　Lillyjo

　　Barbarajo

　　Lindajo

　　Bettyjo

　　Lisajo

　　Billiejo

　　Lorijo

　　Bobbiejo

　　Margaretjo

　　Bonniejo

　　Maryjo

　　Caroljo

　　Nancyjo

　　Cathyjo

　　Patriciajo

　　Debrajo

　　Pattijo

　　Donnajo

　　Peggyjo

　　Ellajo

　　Rebeccajo

　　Emilyjo

　　Sallyjo

　　Emmajo

　　Samanthajo

　　Evajo

　　Sammyjo

　　Haileyjo

　　Sarahjo

　　Hannahjo

　　Shelbyjo

　　Kathyjo

　　Tammyjo

　　Katiejo

　　Taylorjo

　　Kayleejo

　　Terrijo

　　

Other Great Combos

These are some first and middle combos that I’ve heard or thought sounded sweet…

　　Ada Joy

　　Louisa Joyce

　　Alexa Joy

　　Mila Joy

　　Arabella Joy

　　Molly Jo

　　Clara Joyce

　　Nora Joyce

　　Elsie Jo

　　Penelope Joyce

　　Everly Joyce

　　Stella Joyce

　　Finley Joy

　　Summer Joy

　　Harper Joy

　　Thea Joy

　　Hattie Jo

　　Violet Joyce

　　Isla Jo

　　Vivian Joy

　　Lorelei Jo

　　Wilhelmina Jo

　　If you are interested in celebrities who have used the wonderful Jo as a middle name for their babies, American volleyball player Gabrielle Reece has a daughter named Brody Jo, and musician John Cougar Mellencamp has a daughter named Teddi Jo.

　　What do you think of Jo? Would you use it by itself? Would you prefer to use any of its forms as a first name or a middle name?

　　Originally posted at NameFreak! on October 3, 2014 and revised for Nameberry.