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

Shao, 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 Shao surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Shao in America

Shao is the 8765th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Shao surname appeared 3,741 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Shao.

We can also compare 2010 data for Shao 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 Shao

The surname SHAO has its origins in China, with records dating back to the 3rd century BC. It is derived from the Old Chinese word 'shao', meaning 'small' or 'few'. The name was originally used as a descriptive term for someone with a small stature or belonging to a small family.

In ancient Chinese texts, such as the Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian) and the Hou Han Shu (Book of the Later Han), there are mentions of individuals bearing the SHAO surname. One notable figure was Shao Kan, a military general who lived during the Han Dynasty (25-220 AD).

The earliest recorded example of the SHAO surname can be found in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) genealogical records. During this period, the name was prominent in regions like Shandong, Henan, and Hebei provinces.

The SHAO surname has also been associated with several place names, such as Shaoxing, a city in Zhejiang Province. This name derives from the Old Chinese words 'shao' (small) and 'xing' (stream), indicating a small stream.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the SHAO surname. One example is Shao Yong (1011-1077 AD), a renowned philosopher, cosmologist, and poet during the Song Dynasty. Another is Shao Xunmei (1904-1976), a renowned linguist and scholar of the Chinese language.

Other famous individuals include Shao Qiqiu (1518-1588), a prominent scholar and calligrapher during the Ming Dynasty, and Shao Piaoping (1886-1926), a revolutionary and military leader who fought against warlordism in China.

During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912), the SHAO surname was particularly prevalent in the provinces of Shandong, Hebei, and Henan. Many historical records from this period, such as local gazetteers and genealogical records, document the presence of the SHAO clan in these regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Shao

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

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

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

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