2000
#14,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,939
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.72
Rare Last name
Shao
A Chinese surname meaning "few" or "rare," or referring to a place name in ancient China.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,799 Americans carry the last name Shao. That puts it at #5,641 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.98 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 50,412 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shao surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Shao with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.8K
1 in 50,412
Census rank
#5,641
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,929 bearers of the surname Shao in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.98 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5641st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shao, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.3%. The next largest groups are White (3.2%) and Two or More Races (1.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shao
Among Census respondents with the surname Shao, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.3%. The next largest groups are White (3.2%) and Two or More Races (1.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Shao bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Shao surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander94.3% · 5,592
- White3.2% · 190
- Two or more races1.3% · 77
- Black or African American0.8% · 45
- Hispanic or Latino0.4% · 25
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shao
Shao appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#8,765
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,741
+1,802 bearers (+92.9%)
Per 100,000 1.27
Rank movement Up 5,436 places
2020
#5,641
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,929
+2,188 bearers (+58.5%)
Per 100,000 1.98
Rank movement Up 3,124 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,201 | 1,939 | 0.72 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,765 | 3,741 | 1.27 | +1,802 bearers (+92.9%) | Up 5,436 places |
| 2020 | #5,641 | 5,929 | 1.98 | +2,188 bearers (+58.5%) | Up 3,124 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Shao surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #8,765 | #5,641 | 35.6% |
| Count | 3,741 | 5,929 | 58.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.27 | 1.98 | 56.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shao bearers went from 3,741 to 5,929 (+58.5% change). The surname moved up 3,124 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,765 to #5,641.
FAQ
Shao surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shao?
Name Census estimates that about 6,799 living Americans carry the surname Shao. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 50,412 residents.
How common is Shao?
Shao ranks #5,641 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.98 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,929 people with the surname Shao. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,799), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.98 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.98 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Shao.
Has Shao become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shao went from 3,741 recorded bearers to 5,929. That is an increase of 2,188 (+58.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #8,765 to #5,641.
What does the Census say about the background of Shao?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shao, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.3%. The next largest groups are White (3.2%) and Two or More Races (1.3%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Shao in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.3% (5,592 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shao appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (94.3%), White (3.2%), Two or More Races (1.3%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Shao (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Shao mean?
A Chinese surname meaning "few" or "rare," or referring to a place name in ancient China. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Shao (1.98 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Shao?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Shao on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.