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What is Jo short for?

In old records, Jo is usually short for Josephine. It can also stand for Joanna, Joan, and Johanna, and others. You will find it in American and British records, chiefly 1800s-1900s. The Jo-to-Josephine jump is easy to miss, so it is worth searching both when you hit a dead end.

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FAQs

Does Jo always mean Josephine?+

Not always. Jo most often stands for Josephine, but it also appears for Joanna, Joan, and Johanna. Confirm against the actual record before you rely on it.

How does this nickname lookup work?+

It searches a curated dataset of historical nickname-to-formal-name mappings - in both directions - entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is uploaded or stored on our servers.

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