Find out how popular the last name Dao is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Dao.

Dao, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Dao surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Dao in America

Dao is the 3220th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Dao surname appeared 11,211 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Dao.

We can also compare 2010 data for Dao to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Dao

The surname Dao is believed to have originated in China, with roots dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Chinese word "dao," which means "way" or "path" in Mandarin Chinese. The name likely originated from a philosophical or spiritual context, referring to the Dao or the Way, a central concept in Daoism and Chinese philosophy.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Dao can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), where it was first mentioned in historical records and manuscripts. During this period, the name was associated with various scholars, philosophers, and practitioners of Daoism.

One notable historical figure with the surname Dao was Dao Sheng (360-434 AD), a renowned Buddhist monk and philosopher who lived during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period. He was influential in the development of the Yogacara school of Buddhist philosophy and is known for his commentaries on the Mahayana sutras.

Another prominent individual was Dao Guang (627-686 AD), a Tang Dynasty poet and scholar who served as a high-ranking official in the imperial court. His poems and literary works were widely acclaimed and studied by subsequent generations of scholars.

During the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD), the surname Dao gained further prominence with the rise of Neo-Confucianism. Dao Zhi (1021-1088 AD) was a notable Neo-Confucian philosopher and scholar who contributed to the development of this philosophical movement.

In more recent history, Dao Duy Anh (1904-1988) was a prominent Vietnamese politician and revolutionary who played a significant role in Vietnam's struggle for independence from French colonial rule. He served as the first President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) from 1945 to 1969.

Another notable figure was Dao Strom (born 1973), a Vietnamese-American author and artist who has written several books and received numerous literary awards for her work exploring themes of identity, culture, and displacement.

While the surname Dao has its roots in China, it has also spread to other regions, including Vietnam, where it is a common surname among the ethnic Vietnamese population. The name has also been adopted by individuals of various cultural backgrounds, transcending its original geographical and linguistic boundaries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Dao

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Dao.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Dao was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Dao has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Dao was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Dao, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!