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

Rao, 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 Rao surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rao in America

Rao is the 3075th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rao surname appeared 11,672 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 Rao.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rao 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 Rao

The surname "RAO" is believed to have originated in India, specifically in the regions of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The name has its roots in the Sanskrit language and is derived from the word "Ravu," which means "king" or "ruler."

In ancient India, the title "Rao" was bestowed upon members of the ruling class, particularly those who held positions of power and authority within the Hindu caste system. The name has a long and illustrious history, with records indicating its use as early as the 8th century AD.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname "RAO" can be found in the Kakatiya Dynasty, which ruled parts of present-day Andhra Pradesh and Telangana between the 12th and 14th centuries. Several rulers of this dynasty, such as Prataparudra Rao (1289-1323), bore the "Rao" surname.

During the Vijayanagara Empire, which dominated the southern regions of India from the 14th to the 17th century, the "RAO" surname gained even greater prominence. The empire was known for its patronage of art, literature, and architecture, and many prominent figures from this era carried the "Rao" name.

One notable individual was Krishnadevaraya Rao (1509-1529), a celebrated ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire who was renowned for his military prowess, administrative skills, and patronage of the arts. Another famous figure was Tenali Ramakrishna Rao (1510-1579), a renowned scholar, poet, and philosopher who served as a minister in the court of Krishnadevaraya Rao.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the "RAO" surname was also associated with various princely states and dynasties in southern India. For example, the Nizam of Hyderabad, a princely state that existed until the mid-20th century, was ruled by the Asaf Jah dynasty, whose members often carried the "Rao" surname.

Other notable individuals with the "Rao" surname include Sir C.V. Raman Rao (1888-1970), an Indian physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930 for his groundbreaking work on the scattering of light, and P.V. Narasimha Rao (1921-2004), a former Prime Minister of India who played a crucial role in the country's economic liberalization in the 1990s.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rao

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

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

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

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