# Mao (surname)

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

A common surname from Chinese, from Mandarin, usually referring to Mao Zedong.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Chinese |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 5,565 |
| US rank (2010) | 6,153 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 55,480 people |
| Change since 2000 | +38% (4,047 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /maʊ̯/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | Mow |

## Etymology

From Mandarin 毛 (Máo).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Mao 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) | 1.6% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 1.0% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 95% |
| Two or more races | 2.0% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Mao in the People's Republic of China.

## People named Mao

- Mao Zedong, 1st chairman of the Chinese Communist Party and founder of the People's Republic of China 
- Mao Yi, artistic gymnast

## Similar surnames

May, Ma, Mai, Mau, Mah, Maio, Miao, Maw, Mayo, Moya, Moua, Moe.

## 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.