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

Zhao, 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 Zhao surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Zhao in America

Zhao is the 1613th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Zhao surname appeared 22,301 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 8 people would have the surname Zhao.

We can also compare 2010 data for Zhao 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 Zhao

The surname "ZHAO" is an ancient Chinese family name that originated in the Zhou Dynasty (1046 BC – 256 BC) of ancient China. It is believed to have derived from the name of a state called "Zhao" during the Warring States period (475 BC – 221 BC), located in the northern part of present-day Hebei Province.

The earliest recorded use of the surname "ZHAO" can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn period (771 BC – 476 BC) and the Warring States period in Chinese historical records. The name is mentioned in various ancient texts, such as the "Zuo Zhuan" (Commentary of Zuo) and the "Shiji" (Records of the Grand Historian) by Sima Qian.

One of the earliest notable historical figures bearing the surname "ZHAO" was Zhao Zheng (259 BC – 210 BC), also known as Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty. He was the founder of the first unified Chinese empire and is known for his significant contributions to Chinese civilization, including the construction of the Great Wall of China and the standardization of the written script, currency, and measurements.

During the Tang Dynasty (618 AD – 907 AD), the "ZHAO" surname gained prominence with the rise of the Zhao clan, a powerful aristocratic family that produced several influential officials and military leaders. One notable figure from this period was Zhao Kuangyin (927 AD – 976 AD), also known as Emperor Taizu of Song, who founded the Song Dynasty and ruled from 960 AD to 976 AD.

Another prominent individual with the surname "ZHAO" was Zhao Ziyang (1919 – 2005), a former Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1980 to 1987. He played a significant role in reforming China's economy and implementing the "reform and opening-up" policies initiated by Deng Xiaoping.

Throughout history, the "ZHAO" surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Zhaoxian (a county in Hebei Province), Zhaoguzhuang (a town in Shandong Province), and Zhaocheng (a city in Shandong Province). Additionally, the surname has been spelled differently in various dialects and regions, such as "Chiu" in Cantonese and "Chou" in Hokkien.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Zhao

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

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

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

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