Chao
A Chinese masculine given name meaning "chaos" or "disorder".
Name Census estimates that about 304 living Americans carry the first name Chao. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 88.8% of registrations being male. The average person named Chao today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chao births was 1985 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chao. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
304
~ 1 in 1,127,481 Americans
Peak year
1985
26 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
2013 SSA rank
#12,467
Tracked since 1971
Census
Chao in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,298 people with the first name Chao, which placed it at #4,377 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#4,377
National first-name rank
People counted
4.3K
4,298 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
96.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chao
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chao is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.5%. The next largest groups are White (1.9%) and Black (0.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Chao described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Chao at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander96.5% · 4,147
- White1.9% · 82
- Black or African American0.8% · 34
- Hispanic or Latino0.4% · 17
- Two or more races0.4% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Chao
Chao leans heavily male at 88.8% of total registrations, but 36 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Chao as a male name
- Ranked #12,467 in 2013
- 5 male births in 2013
- Peak: 1985 (18 births)
Chao as a female name
- Ranked #13,667 in 1992
- 5 female births in 1992
- Peak: 1985 (8 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Chao on both sides of the split. Of the 4,305 people counted with this name, 3,106 were male (72.1%) and 1,199 were female (27.9%).
Popularity
Chao: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chao from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 166 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chao by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Chao during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Chaos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Chao
The name Chao has its origins in various cultures and languages across Asia. It is believed to have derived from the Chinese word "chào," which means "morning" or "dawn." This suggests that the name could have been initially given to children born at the break of dawn.
In Chinese culture, the name Chao has been in use for centuries, and it has been associated with various meanings, such as "dawn," "bright," and "radiant." The earliest recorded instance of the name can be traced back to the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) in China.
Chao has also been a prominent name in Vietnamese culture, where it is often written as "Châu." In Vietnamese, the name is derived from the word "châu" meaning "pearl" or "precious stone." This connection to precious gems could indicate that the name was initially given to children who were considered valuable or treasured.
In Buddhist scriptures and teachings, the name Chao is sometimes associated with the concept of "impermanence" or "transience," reflecting the idea that all things in life are fleeting and ever-changing, much like the dawn that gives way to the day.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Chao. One of the earliest recorded individuals was Chao Cuo (200–154 BC), a Chinese prince and military leader during the Han Dynasty. Another prominent figure was Chao Phraya Phra Klang (1554–1629), a Thai noble and regent who played a significant role in the Ayutthaya Kingdom.
In more recent times, Chao Shao-an (1905–1998) was a Chinese mathematician and educator who made significant contributions to the field of algebraic geometry. Chao Chung-Yao (1934–2022) was a renowned Taiwanese writer and scholar known for his works on Chinese literature and culture.
Additionally, Chao Chung-Ching (1910–1994) was a Chinese-American physicist who made notable contributions to the study of nuclear physics and was involved in the Manhattan Project during World War II.
These are just a few examples of the rich history and diverse cultural influences associated with the name Chao. Across various regions and time periods, this name has been imbued with meanings ranging from natural phenomena to precious gems, reflecting the multifaceted nature of its origins and interpretations.
People
Chao + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chao as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Chao: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chao?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 304 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chao going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,127,481 US residents.
Is Chao a common name?
We classify Chao as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 320 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chao most popular?
The single biggest year for Chao was 1985, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chao is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chao in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,298 people with the name Chao, or 1.42 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,377 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Chao in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Chao?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Chao on both sides of the split. Of the 4,305 people counted with this name, 3,106 were male (72.1%) and 1,199 were female (27.9%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Chao?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chao is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.5%. The next largest groups are White (1.9%) and Black (0.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Chao most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Chao in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.5% (4,147 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Chao in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chao a male name?
Yes, 88.8% of people registered as Chao in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Chao still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chao in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Chao can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Chao?
See how many people share the name Chao on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.