NameCensus.

UK boy's name

Ivo

Ivo is a masculine Germanic name meaning "archer" or "bowman".

For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.

Ivo is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Ivo popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #602, with 63 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2024, with 63 births.

This profile covers 674 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, NRS Scotland and NISRA Northern Ireland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.

Ivo is at its recorded peak in the England and Wales series.

We estimate that about 693 living people in the UK are called Ivo. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.

Key insights

  • Ivo ranked #602 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 63 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2024, when 63 boys were registered as Ivo.
  • Ivo ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #375 in 2011.
  • About 693 living people in the UK are estimated to have Ivo as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#602

2024

Births in 2024

63

Latest year

Peak year

2024

63 births

Estimated living

693

2026

Meaning

What does Ivo mean?

The name Ivo has its origins in the Slavic languages, particularly in the regions of Eastern Europe and the Balkans. It is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "ivŭ," which means "yew tree" or "made of yew wood." The yew tree held significant cultural and symbolic importance in ancient Slavic mythology and folklore.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ivo dates back to the 9th century, when it appeared in Old Church Slavonic manuscripts and historical chronicles. During the Middle Ages, the name gained popularity among Slavic populations, particularly in regions such as Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, and Bulgaria.

In the 11th century, a prominent Croatian nobleman named Ivo Bribirski played a significant role in the political affairs of the Kingdom of Croatia. He was a powerful feudal lord and a member of the influential Šubić family, which ruled over parts of Dalmatia and Bosnia.

Another notable individual with the name Ivo was Ivo of Chartres, a French philosopher and theologian who lived in the late 11th and early 12th centuries. He was an influential figure in the development of scholastic philosophy and is remembered for his contributions to the study of logic and metaphysics.

During the Renaissance period, Ivo Andrić, a renowned Yugoslav novelist and poet, was born in 1892 in what is now Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the Serbo-Croatian language and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1961 for his novel "The Bridge on the Drina."

In the 20th century, Ivo Lola Ribar was a prominent Croatian politician and one of the founders of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. He served as the first Prime Minister of the Yugoslav government in 1945 and played a crucial role in the country's post-World War II reconstruction efforts.

Another notable figure with the name Ivo was Ivo Josipović, a Croatian lawyer and politician who served as the President of Croatia from 2010 to 2015. He was known for his efforts to promote democracy, human rights, and Croatia's integration into the European Union.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Ivo over time

The chart below shows babies named Ivo registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.

For Ivo, the clearest high point is 2024. The latest England and Wales figure is 63 births in 2024, compared with 63 at the peak.

Babies born per year

Ivo
016324763199620102024

Decades

Ivo by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Ivo was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.

Decade Average rank Total births Years covered
2020s #650 275 5
2010s #1100 254 10
2000s #1630 118 10
1990s #1882 27 4

Geography

Where Ivo is most common

The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Ivo. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.

Ivo ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #375 in 2011.

Scotland
6
Northern Ireland
3

Across the UK

Ivo in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland (NRS)

#478 in 2024

5 years of NRS records, 20 total registered

Northern Ireland (NISRA)

#375 in 2011

1 years of NISRA records, 3 total registered

Notable bearers

Famous people named Ivo

  • Ivo Haddo, Earl of Haddo

    schoolchild; aristocrat

    Born 18th July 2012

    2012-

  • Ivo Hobson

    cricketer

    English cricketer

    1990-

  • Ivo Charles David Morrison

    (born 1990)

    1990-

  • Ivo Stourton

    writer

    British writer

    1982-

  • Ivo Neame

    pianist; saxophonist; jazz musician

    Jazz pianist

    1981-

  • Ivo Martindale Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes

    (born 1978)

    1978-

  • Ivo Laurence Philipps

    (born 1967)

    1967-

  • Ivo Watts-Russell

    composer; record producer

    English record producer

    1954-

Related

Names similar to Ivo

FAQ

Ivo: questions and answers

How popular is the name Ivo in the UK right now?

In 2024, Ivo was ranked #602 for boys in England and Wales, with 63 births registered.

When was Ivo most popular?

The peak year on record was 2024, with 63 babies registered as Ivo in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Ivo?

Ivo is a masculine Germanic name meaning "archer" or "bowman".

How many people are called Ivo in the UK?

A total of 674 babies have been registered as Ivo across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 20 more in Scotland and 3 in Northern Ireland.

Where is Ivo most common?

In the latest published local rankings, Ivo ranks best in Northern Ireland, where it placed #375 in 2011. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.

Which records is this page based on?

The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.