# Yao (surname)

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

A Chinese surname from Hokkien.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Chinese |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 7,192 |
| US rank (2010) | 4,898 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 42,929 people |
| Change since 2000 | +57% (4,592 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From various romanizations of the Mandarin and Hokkien pronunciations of Chinese 姚 (Yáo/Iâu). Doublet of Yiu.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Yao 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) | 2.1% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 2.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 93% |
| Two or more races | 2.0% |

## Where

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

## People named Yao

- Yao Defen, (1972-2012) former tallest living woman

## Similar surnames

Yau, Yaw, Ya, Yu, Yee, Yi, Yoo, Ye, Yeh, You, Yoho, Yeo.

## 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.