# Chao (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/chao/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Chinese.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Chinese |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 10,398 |
| US rank (2010) | 3,432 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 29,693 people |
| Change since 2000 | +20% (8,633 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /t͡ʃaʊ/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | Zhao |

## Etymology

From Mandarin 趙／赵 (Zhào), Wade–Giles romanization: Chao⁴.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Chao in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 3.7% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 0.2% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 6.4% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 87% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.1% |
| Two or more races | 3.0% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Chao in the United States.

## People named Chao

- Elaine Chao, 18th United States Secretary of Transportation and 24th United States Secretary of Labor
- Rosalind Chao, American actress

## Similar surnames

Choi, Cho, Chow, Chau, Chou, Cha, Choe, Choy, Chea, Chua, Chai, Chae.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.