Chao is a surname in various cultures. It is the
Pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...
spelling of two
Chinese surnames ( and ), the
Wade–Giles
Wade–Giles ( ) is a romanization system for Mandarin Chinese. It developed from the system produced by Thomas Francis Wade during the mid-19th century, and was given completed form with Herbert Giles's '' A Chinese–English Dictionary'' ...
spelling of two others ( or the much rarer , both spelled in Pinyin as
Zhào), and a regional or other spelling of two additional Chinese surnames (
Cáo and
Zhōu). It is also a
Galician and
Portuguese surname.
Origins
Chinese surname Cháo ()
This surname is written with a character meaning "dawn" (). According to traditional sources including ''
Fengsu Tongyi'', ''
Yuanhe Xingzuan'', ''Xingshi Kaolüe'' (), and the surnames/clans section () of the ''
Tongzhi'' encyclopedia, both this surname and another written with a character also meaning "dawn" ( zh, labels=no, c=, p=Zhāo) originated from personal names of people during the
Spring and Autumn period
The Spring and Autumn period () was a period in History of China, Chinese history corresponding roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou (256 BCE), characterized by the gradual erosion of royal power as local lords nominally subject t ...
, and were adopted by their descendants as surnames, following which some descendants changed their surname from one character to the other. The latter surname originated from , a son of
King Jing of Zhou (544–519 BC), while the former originated from Shi Chao () of the
state of Wei
Wei (; ) was one of the seven major State (Ancient China), states during the Warring States period of ancient China. It was created from the three-way Partition of Jin, together with Han (Warring States), Han and Zhao (state), Zhao. Its territo ...
. The biography of
Chao Cuo in the ''
Records of the Grand Historian
The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st ce ...
'' stated that the surname originated in the
Nanyang Commandery, specifically in the ancient region of
Xi'e.
In
Sino-Korean pronunciation, those characters are both read Jo, but are not used as surnames in modern Korea (the
Korean surname Jo is written with different characters).
In
Sino-Vietnamese pronunciation, it is read Triều; the spelling is distinct from
Triệu, the Sino-Vietnamese reading of the surname Zhào (趙/赵).
It is listed on the ''
Hundred Family Surnames
The ''Hundred Family Surnames'' (), commonly known as ''Bai Jia Xing'', also translated as ''Hundreds of Chinese Surnames'', is a classic Chinese language , Chinese text composed of common Chinese surnames. An unknown author compiled the book ...
'' poem.
Chinese surname Cháo ()
Another Chinese surname, homophonous with the above in Mandarin, is written with a character meaning "nest" (). Traditional sources note two different origins for this surname. The () states that it refers to the legendary
Youchao, who purportedly lived in a nest high up in a tree before he invented houses; his name literally means "having a nest". The () states that it originated as a
toponymic surname
A toponymic surname or habitational surname or byname is a surname or byname derived from a place name, referring to the
state of Chao; following the defeat of the state of Chao by the
state of Wu during the latter part of the
Spring and Autumn period
The Spring and Autumn period () was a period in History of China, Chinese history corresponding roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou (256 BCE), characterized by the gradual erosion of royal power as local lords nominally subject t ...
, some of the people of the defeated state adopted Chao as their surname.
In Sino-Korean pronunciation, this character is read So, but it is not used as a surname in modern Korea (the
Korean surname So is written with different characters).
In Sino-Vietnamese pronunciation, it is read Sào.
Other
Chao is also an alternative spelling of four other Chinese surnames, listed below by their spelling in
Pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...
; see those articles for the traditional origins of those surnames:
*
Zhào ( zh, first=t, links=no, t=, s=赵), a common Chinese surname, spelled Chao in the
Wade–Giles
Wade–Giles ( ) is a romanization system for Mandarin Chinese. It developed from the system produced by Thomas Francis Wade during the mid-19th century, and was given completed form with Herbert Giles's '' A Chinese–English Dictionary'' ...
romanisation system
*Zhào ( zh, links=no, c=}), a much rarer surname also spelled Chao in Wade–Giles
*
Zhōu ( zh, links=no, c=}), spelled Chao based on its pronunciation in Cantonese ( zh, cy=Jāu, j=Zau1). This spelling is common in
Macau
Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
.
*
Cáo ( zh, links=no, c=}), sometimes spelled in non-standard fashion as Chao
Chao may also be a Portuguese and Galician surname, derived from
Galician-Portuguese ', meaning "
plain
In geography, a plain, commonly known as flatland, is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and ...
" or "
plateau
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...
".
Statistics
In the
Third National Population Census of the People's Republic of China in 1982, Cháo meaning "dawn" () was found to be the 361st-most-common surname, while Cháo meaning "nest" () was 420th-most-common. Zhào ( zh, labels=no, t=趙, s=赵) was the seventh-most-common surname, but it is not spelled Chao in mainland China. In Taiwan, where that latter surname frequently is spelled Chao, it was the 43rd-most-common surname in 2005, according to a survey of household registration data by the Ministry of the Interior that year.
In
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, statistics of the stated that there were 2,703 people with the surname Chao in
Galicia, making it the 244th-most-common surname there. The surname could be found in 68 of the 313
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
of Galicia. Municipalities with particularly high concentrations of bearers of the surname included
Muras (61 people; 2.99% of the local population),
Ourol (69; 2.45%), and
Pedrafita do Cebreiro (52; 1.72%), all in the
Province of Lugo (as were all but one of the ten municipalities with the highest concentrations of bearers of the surname).
According to statistics cited by
Patrick Hanks, there were 143 people on the island of
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
and none on the island of Ireland with the surname Chao as of 2011. The surname was not present on the island of Great Britain in 1881.
The
2010 United States census found 10,398 people with the surname Chao, making it the 3,432nd-most-common name in the country. This represented an increase from 8,633 (3,769th-most-common) in the
2000 census. In both censuses, slightly less than nine-tenths of the bearers of the surname identified as
Asian, between five and seven per cent as
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
, and between three and five percent as
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
.
It was the 135th-most-common surname among respondents to the 2000 census who identified as Asian.
People
Chinese surname Cháo ()
*
Chao Cuo (; ), Han dynasty official
*Chao Heng (), Chinese name of
Abe no Nakamaro (698–770), Japanese-born Tang dynasty governor of Annam
*
Chao Chongzhi (; ), Chinese poet
*
Chao Na (; born 1980), Chinese swimmer
Fictional characters:
*
Chao Gai () in the 14th-century Chinese novel ''Water Margin''
Chinese surname Cháo ()
*
Chao Yuanfang (; ), Sui dynasty court physician and medical author
*
Chao Pengfei (; born 1987), Chinese football striker
Chinese surname Zhào ()
*
T. C. Chao (; 1888–1979), Chinese Christian theologian
*
Yuen Ren Chao (; 1892–1982), Chinese-born American linguist
*
Chung-Yao Chao (; 1902–1998), Chinese physicist
*
Chao Shao-an (; 1905–1998), Chinese artist
*
Chao Yao-tung (; 1916–2008), Taiwanese politician
*
Edward C. T. Chao
Edward Ching-Te Chao (; November 30, 1919 – February 3, 2008) was one of the founders of the field of impact metamorphism, the study of the effects of meteorite impacts on the Earth's crust.
Born in Suzhou, China, he was best known for di ...
(; 1919–2008), Chinese-born American geologist
*
Ting Tsung Chao (; 1921–2008), Chinese-born plastics entrepreneur
*
Kwang-Chu Chao (; 1925–2013), Chinese-born American chemist
*
James S. C. Chao (; born 1927), Chinese-born American philanthropist and shipping businessman
*
Ruth Mulan Chu Chao (; 1930–2007), Chinese-born American philanthropist
*
Chao Tzee Cheng (; 1934–2000), Chinese-born Singaporean forensic pathologist
*
Cecil Chao (; born 1936), Hong Kong financial industry businessman
*
Chao Shou-po (; born 1941), Taiwanese politician
*
Chao Hick Tin (; born 1942), Singaporean judge
*
Wing T. Chao (; born 1944), Chinese-born American architect
*
James Y. Chao (born 1947), Taiwan-born American plastics entrepreneur, son of Ting Tsung Chao
*
Albert Chao (; born 1949), Taiwan-born American plastics entrepreneur, son of Ting Tsung Chao
*
Anne Chao (; born 1951), Taiwanese environmental statistician
*
Elaine Chao (; born 1953), American politician (U.S. Secretary of Transportation), daughter of Ruth Mulan Chu Chao
*
Winston Chao (; born 1960), Taiwanese actor
*
Chao Chuan (; born 1960), Taiwanese pop singer
*
Sissey Chao (; born 1963), Taiwanese musician
*
Chao Cheng-yu (; born 1966), Taiwanese politician
*
Chao Fong-pang (; born 1967), Taiwanese pool player
*
Rosalind Chao (; born 1967), American actress
*
Cindy Chao (; born 1970s), Taiwanese jewellery designer
*
Chao Chien-ming (; born 1972), Taiwanese surgeon, son-in-law of former president Chen Shui-bian
*
Chao Chih-Kuo (; born 1972), Taiwanese long jumper
*
Joyce Chao (; born 1979), Taiwanese actress
*
Chao Chih-chien (; born 1983), Taiwanese track and field athlete
*
Mark Chao (; born 1984), Taiwanese actor
*
Ruth Chao (designer) (; born 1988), Hong Kong designer
*
Allen Chao (), Chinese-born American pharmaceuticals businessman
*
Chao Hsiu-wa (), Taiwanese politician
Chinese surname Cáo ()
*
Chao Kuang Piu (; born 1920), Hong Kong textiles businessman
*
Charles Chao (; born 1961), Chinese businessman, CEO and president of Sina Corp.
Chinese surname Zhōu ()
*
Jason Chao (; born 1986), Macau activist
*
Chao Man Hou (; born 1996), Macau swimmer
Other
People with other surnames spelled Chao, or for whom the Chinese characters of their names are unavailable:
*
Ramon Chao (1935–2018), Spanish journalist
*
Alexander Wu Chao (born 1949), Taiwanese-American physicist
*
Manu Chao
Manu Chao (; born José Manuel Tomás Arturo Chao Ortega on 21 June 1961) is a French-Spanish musician. He sings in French language, French, Spanish language, Spanish, English language, English, Italian language, Italian, Arabic, Catalan language ...
(born 1961), French musician
*
Chan Chao (born 1966), Burmese-born American photographer
*
Mariano Chao (born 1972), Argentine field hockey goalkeeper
*
Avianna Chao (born 1975), Chinese-born Canadian sport shooter
*
Zoë Chao (born 1985), American actress
*
Peter Chao, alias of Davin Tong (born 1987), Canadian YouTube personality
*
Lin Chao, American evolutionary biologist
*
Roger Chao, Australian explorer
*
Ruth K. Chao, American psychologist
*
Tom X. Chao, American playwright
*
Vic Chao, American actor
Fictional characters:
*
Lily Chao, first appeared in the BBC medical drama ''Casualty'' in 2013
See also
*
Chal (name)
*
Char (name)
References
{{surname
Chinese-language surnames
Galician-language surnames
Portuguese-language surnames
Multiple Chinese surnames