Rao () is a Chinese family name. It can also be spelled as "Yow" or "Yaw". The surname Rao is approximately 2200 years old, and originated in the area near present-day Linfen county in

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

province. It is the 181st most common name being shared by around 730,000 people or 0.055% of the population with the province with the most people being Jiangxi. It is on the '' Hundred Family Surnames'' poem.

Notable people

* Jao Tsung-I (1917–2018), Hong Kong Chinese calligrapher *

Ngeow Sze Chan Dr. Ngeow Sze Chan (1915–2002) was a prominent Chinese physician based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, during the mid to late 20th century. He was known in the region as “The Father of Modern Traditional Chinese Medicine” due to his influen ...

(1915–2002), Malaysian practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine *

Rao Ching-ling Rao Ching-ling (; born 23 November 1969) is a Taiwanese politician. Education Rao obtained her doctoral degree from National Taiwan Normal University in political science. Political career Rao was elected to the Taitung County Council after w ...

(born 1969), magistrate of Taitung County * Rao Shushi (1903–1975), senior member of the Chinese Communist Party *

Rao Yi Rao Yi (; born 1962) is a Chinese neurobiologist. A Ph.D. graduate from the University of California, San Francisco, Rao held a Helen Hay Whitney fellowship at Harvard University and was on the faculty of Washington University in St. Louis and ...

(born 1962 in Jiangxi), neuroscientist *

Rao Yutai Rao Yutai (; December 1, 1891 – October 16, 1968) was a Chinese physicist, one of the founders of modern physics in China. He was a founding member of Academia Sinica in 1948 and of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1955. Early years Rao was ...

(1891–1968), physicist * Yaw Shin Leong (born 1976), Singaporean politician *

Nyu Kok Meng The Andrew Road triple murders was a case of robbery turned triple murder in a bungalow at Andrew Road, Singapore, in 1983. The robbery was committed by two young men armed with a rifle and knife. During the robbery, one of the robbers murdered ...

, Malaysian and convicted robber who committed armed robbery in Singapore. Individual Chinese surnames

References

{{surname, Rao Chinese-language surnames