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It's prob'ly because it feels incomplete... like it should be short for something else but not a name in and of itself... Have known plenty of people who get addressed as Jo and some who have it as part of a double name (Billie-Jo), but it doesn't feel complete on its own...

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Jolene
Joanna
Joanne
Jodi
Josephine
Joelle

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They all feel more solid than just Jo, but can use Jo as a nn if they so choose. I'm partial to Kendra Jolene nn Kendra-Jo. I believe "Designing Women" had a Mary-Jo. DJ on "Full House" was short for Donna-Jo. However, Jo on its own is missing something.

I know a ton of girls with this as a middle name, three just in my family.

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Personally I like it as a first name, not so much as a middle name. It's short and sweet and sounds quite strong which seems to be a naming trend for girls right now.

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I've known one Jo in real life. She was a librarian at the local library when I was very young. That was her full name, not a nickname btw.

I think people avoid it as a middle name because it sounds "country." In a lot of peoples' minds, country = uneducated, so...

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That's not to say I dislike the name personally; I actually think it's very cute. I'd use it as a first name though, and then as a NN for Josephine or Jordan.

I think it isn't used as much as it might because it has a kind of hillbilly vibe to it. Like the three girls in the old TV show Petticoat Junction: Bobbie Jo, Betty Jo, and Billie Jo. I'm sure they were all given the same middle name, and that particular middle name, to fit the countrified theme of the show.

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I had a science teacher named Jo in the eighth grade. Her name was Joanne but she was usually called Jo. Hateful old woman.

Unlike Grace, Rose, Lynn, Leigh, Anne, Jane, and other one-syllable, filler middle names, Jo is usually the short version of another name, Josephine, Josefa, etc. I think Jo is usually used as a nickname and not a formal name. Plus Jo, can seem more masculine sounding in English speaking countries, because of the name Joe, usually short for Joseph. Just guesses, though.

I think it's not used more as a middle name because any first name, paired with JO, gives the name a real Southern, country-feel, and that's not for everyone.

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I've never known a Jo. I certainly would never approve of it on its own as a first name---much too nicknamey and seems very incomplete. Actually, that's why I wouldn't use it as a middle name, either, in addition to the country feel.

I have personally only known one Jo: a Mary Jo. It is normally a nickname for Josephine. I like it best as a nn for Josephine.

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The name Jo can be found in the book Little Women. It is the name of the main character.