Given name & surname
Yao
“born on a Thursday”
Yao is a variant of Yaw. One African interpretation is “born on a Thursday.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Yao is a variant of Yaw. One African interpretation is “born on a Thursday.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Yao is a variant of Yaw. An origin associated with Yaw is African.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In English usage, Yao as a surname developed from 姚.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1984. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Yao through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 108
- 108 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1984
- 10 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 2023. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 10 in 1984. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 3,398 as a first name in 2020; 10,882 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.
Yao’s family of names
In English usage, Yao as a surname shares an earlier linguistic root with YIU. Yao has a related form in Yaw. In English usage, Yao as a surname developed from the Chinese form 姚.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Yao
- Yao AziawonouTogolese footballerborn 1979
- Yao Junior SènayaTogolese footballerborn 1984
- Yao Jinnangymnastborn 1995
- Yao XueyinChinese writer1910–1999
- Yao GomadoGhanaian politicianborn 1966
- Y. T. WuChinese christian leader (1893-1979)
- Yao Dieudonneassociation football playerborn 1997
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Yao, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Adams
“man” · “of the earth”
>99% boys
Eugenio
“a wellborn man”
>99% boys
Alain
“one who is precious” · “resembling a little rock”
>99% boys
Antoine
“a flourishing man; from an ancient Roman family”
>99% boys
Antwan
“a flourishing man; from an ancient Roman family”
>99% boys
Anwar
“surrounded by light” · “luminous”
98% boys · 2% girls
Edgardo
“a powerful and wealthy spearman”
>99% boys
Orlando
“from the renowned land”
>99% boys