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

Gao, 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 Gao surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gao in America

Gao is the 2948th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gao surname appeared 12,172 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 Gao.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gao 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 Gao

The surname Gao has its origins in China, where it has been documented for centuries. It is believed to have originated from the ancient Chinese word "gao," which means "high" or "tall." This name may have initially been given to individuals who were physically tall or perhaps lived in elevated regions.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Gao can be found in the "Hou Han Shu" (Book of the Later Han Dynasty), which dates back to the 5th century AD. This historical text mentions several individuals with the surname Gao who held prominent positions during the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD).

In ancient China, surnames were often derived from place names or geographic features. It is possible that the surname Gao may have originated from a specific location or region, although the exact origin is unclear. Some scholars have suggested that it may be linked to the city of Gaocheng in Hebei Province, which was an important administrative center during the Jin Dynasty (265-420 AD).

The Gao surname has been associated with several notable figures throughout Chinese history. One of the most prominent is Gao Xizi (born around 170 BC), a renowned philosopher and scholar during the Western Han Dynasty. Another influential individual was Gao Qiu (697-765 AD), a renowned poet and calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty.

During the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD), the Gao family produced several accomplished officials and scholars. One notable example is Gao Kegong (1248-1310), a revered Confucian scholar and author of the "Gao Shi Pu" (Gao Family Genealogy), which documented the family's history and lineage.

In more recent times, Gao Xingjian (born 1940) is a celebrated Chinese-French novelist and playwright who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2000. He is best known for his novels "Soul Mountain" and "One Man's Bible."

While the surname Gao has its roots in China, it has spread to other parts of the world due to migration and diaspora. It is now found in various countries, including Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and communities of Chinese descent in North America and Europe.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gao

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

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 Gao 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 Gao 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 Gao was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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