Gao
Gao is a given name of Chinese origin meaning "high" or "lofty".
Name Census estimates that about 360 living Americans carry the first name Gao. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Gao today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gao births was 1989 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gao. 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
360
~ 1 in 952,095 Americans
Peak year
1989
32 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2008 SSA rank
#18,451
Tracked since 1980
Census
Gao in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 657 people with the first name Gao, which placed it at #16,975 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
#16,975
National first-name rank
People counted
657
657 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
93.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gao
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gao is Asian/Pacific Islander at 93.9%. The next largest groups are White (2.9%) and Hispanic (1.4%). 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 Gao 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 Gao at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander93.9% · 617
- White2.9% · 19
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 9
- Black or African American0.9% · 6
- Two or more races0.9% · 6
Popularity
Gao: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gao from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 204 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gao 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 Gao during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gaos live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Minnesota, California, Wisconsin recorded the most babies named Gao, while Wisconsin, California, Minnesota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 77 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gao
The name Gao is of Chinese origin, derived from the Mandarin Chinese language. It has been in use since ancient times, with records dating back to the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC). The name is composed of the character "高," which means "high" or "tall" in Mandarin.
One of the earliest mentions of the name Gao can be found in the classic Chinese text, the Shijing (Book of Songs), which dates back to the early Zhou Dynasty (c. 1046–256 BC). The name is believed to have been given to individuals who possessed a lofty or noble character or who were physically tall.
Throughout Chinese history, there have been several notable figures who bore the name Gao. One of the most renowned was Gao Qiu (697–765 AD), a revered statesman and philosopher during the Tang Dynasty. He is remembered for his wisdom and contributions to the development of Neo-Confucian thought.
Another prominent individual was Gao Xingzhou (1688–1733), a celebrated painter and calligrapher of the Qing Dynasty. His works are highly regarded for their innovative techniques and artistic expression.
In the realm of literature, Gao Ming (1305–1359) was a renowned Yuan Dynasty playwright and poet. His plays, such as "The Orphan of Zhao," have been widely studied and performed throughout the centuries.
Gao Shiju (1645–1703), a Qing Dynasty scholar and official, is remembered for his expertise in astronomy and mathematics. He played a crucial role in reforming the Chinese calendar system during his time.
Gao Xingjian (born 1940) is a contemporary Chinese-French novelist, playwright, and critic. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2000, becoming the first Chinese-born writer to receive this honor.
The name Gao has endured throughout Chinese history, carrying connotations of height, nobility, and cultural significance. Its rich heritage and association with notable figures have made it a respected and enduring name in Chinese culture.
People
Gao + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gao as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Gao: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gao?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 360 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gao 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 952,095 US residents.
Is Gao a common name?
We classify Gao as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 375 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gao most popular?
The single biggest year for Gao was 1989, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gao is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gao in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 657 people with the name Gao, or 0.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,975 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 Gao 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 Gao?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Gao on both sides of the split. Of the 655 people counted with this name, 208 were male (31.8%) and 447 were female (68.2%). 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 Gao?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gao is Asian/Pacific Islander at 93.9%. The next largest groups are White (2.9%) and Hispanic (1.4%). 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 Gao most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Gao in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.9% (617 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 Gao in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gao a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gao in the SSA data are female. 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 Gao still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gao 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 Gao 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 share the name Gao?
Find out how many Americans are named Gao on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.