Dao
A Chinese masculine name meaning "the way" or "path".
Name Census estimates that about 271 living Americans carry the first name Dao. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 68.8% of registrations being male. The average person named Dao today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dao births was 1991 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dao. 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
271
~ 1 in 1,264,776 Americans
Peak year
1991
24 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2018 SSA rank
#12,585
Tracked since 1980
Census
Dao in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,788 people with the first name Dao, which placed it at #4,778 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
#4,778
National first-name rank
People counted
3.8K
3,788 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
96.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dao
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dao is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.9%. The next largest groups are White (1.0%) and Two or More Races (1.0%). 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 Dao 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 Dao at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander96.9% · 3,672
- White1.0% · 37
- Two or more races1.0% · 37
- Black or African American0.7% · 27
- Hispanic or Latino0.4% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Dao
Dao is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 282 total registrations, 194 (68.8%) were male and 88 (31.2%) were female.
Dao as a male name
- Ranked #12,585 in 2018
- 5 male births in 2018
- Peak: 1983 (16 births)
Dao as a female name
- Ranked #16,373 in 2003
- 5 female births in 2003
- Peak: 1982 (10 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Dao on both sides of the split. Of the 3,790 people counted with this name, 1,199 were male (31.6%) and 2,591 were female (68.4%).
Popularity
Dao: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dao from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 144 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
Dao 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 Dao during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Daos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Dao
The name Dao has its origins in Chinese culture and is derived from the word "dao," which means "way" or "path" in Chinese philosophy. This name has a deep connection to the ancient Chinese concept of Daoism, which emphasizes living in harmony with the natural order of the universe.
Dao is believed to have been in use as a given name in China for centuries, but its earliest recorded appearance is difficult to pinpoint due to the vast history of Chinese civilization. The name is often associated with the foundational text of Daoism, the Dao De Jing, attributed to the philosopher Laozi, who lived around the 6th century BCE.
One of the earliest documented individuals with the name Dao was Dao Guang (562-619 CE), a renowned Chinese Buddhist monk and scholar during the Tang Dynasty. He made significant contributions to the study and translation of Buddhist texts from Sanskrit into Chinese.
Another notable figure in history with the name Dao was Dao Kan (286-360 CE), a Chinese calligrapher and painter who lived during the Jin Dynasty. He is celebrated for his innovative calligraphic style and his influence on the development of Chinese calligraphy.
In the 20th century, Dao Fahai (1943-2004) was a prominent Taiwanese Buddhist monk and scholar who dedicated his life to the study and promotion of Chan Buddhism. He established several monasteries and educational institutions in Taiwan and abroad.
Dao Zhunzhong (1904-1973) was a Chinese linguist and philologist known for his extensive research on the Chinese language and his contributions to the field of historical linguistics.
Dao Sifu (1905-1985), born Dao Zhenfei, was a renowned Chinese martial arts master and practitioner of Xingyi Quan. He played a significant role in preserving and promoting this traditional Chinese martial art in the 20th century.
While the name Dao has a rich history rooted in Chinese culture and philosophy, it has also been adopted by individuals from various backgrounds and cultures worldwide, reflecting the global influence of Chinese traditions and values.
People
Dao + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dao as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Dao: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dao?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 271 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dao 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 1,264,776 US residents.
Is Dao a common name?
We classify Dao as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 282 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dao most popular?
The single biggest year for Dao was 1991, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dao is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dao in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,788 people with the name Dao, or 1.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,778 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 Dao 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 Dao?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Dao on both sides of the split. Of the 3,790 people counted with this name, 1,199 were male (31.6%) and 2,591 were female (68.4%). 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 Dao?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dao is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.9%. The next largest groups are White (1.0%) and Two or More Races (1.0%). 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 Dao most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Dao in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.9% (3,672 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 Dao in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dao a male name?
Yes, 68.8% of people registered as Dao 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 Dao still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dao 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 Dao 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 people are called Dao?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.