Given name & surname
Chao
“one who surpasses others”·“the great one”
Chao is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “one who surpasses others” (Chinese) and “the great one” (Chinese). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “one who surpasses others” (Chinese) and “the great one” (Chinese). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Chinese.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1971. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Chao through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 320
- 284 boys · 36 girls
- Most popular year
- 1985
- 26 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2013. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 4,305 as a first name in 2020; 11,067 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Chao’s family of names
In Greek usage, Chao as a surname is a transliteration of Χάο.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: across languages.
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Chao
- Li ChaoChinese chess playerborn 1989
- Deng ChaoChinese actorborn 1979
- Zhai ChaoChinese handball playerborn 1971
- Xu ChaoChinese cyclist (1994-2024)
- Wang ChaoChinese film director and screenwriterborn 1964
- Zhou ChaoChinese judokaborn 1987
- Huang Chaobadminton playerborn 1992
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Chao, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Chun
“born during spring” · “born during the spring”
82% boys · 18% girls
Ching
Ching is a surname from Cantonese. It is used in English, Tagalog, and Atayal.
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Shao
Shao is a surname from Wade–Giles, ultimately from Chinese. It is used in English and Tagalog.
>99% boys
Chang
“one who is unhindered”
98% boys · 2% girls
Chou
Chou is a surname from Mandarin, ultimately from Wade–Giles.
>99% boys
Chung
Chung is a surname from Korean, ultimately from Chinese. It is used in English, Vietnamese, Tagalog, and Indonesian.
95% boys · 5% girls
Chu
Chu is a surname from Wade–Giles, ultimately from Mandarin. It is used in English, Vietnamese, Tagalog, and Indonesian.
>99% boys
Ho
“a good man”
>99% boys