Cáo 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' ...

romanization In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Latin script, Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and tra ...

of the

Chinese surname Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicization, Sinicized ethnic groups in Greater China, Korea, Vietnam and among overseas Chinese communities around the world such as Singapore and Malaysia. Written Chinese names begin with surnames, ...

(''Cáo''). It is listed 26th in the

Song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

-era ''

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. Cao is romanized as "Tsao" in Wade-Giles (Ts'ao), which is widely adopted in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, although the apostrophe is often omitted in practice. It is romanized "Cho", "Tso", and "Chaw" in

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

; "Chou", "Chô", and "Chow" in

Hokkien Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...

; and "Chau", "Chow" in Teochew. It is romanized "Zau" or "Dzau" in Shanghainese.

Distribution

Cao is the 30th-most-common surname in

mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

as of 2019 and the 58th-most-common surname on

. In the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, the romanization Cao is a fairly common surname, ranked 7,425th during the 1990 census but 2,986th during the year 2000 census. It is one of the few Chinese surnames whose pinyin transcription is already more common than other variants. The Wade transcription Tsao was only ranked 16,306th during the 1990 census and 12,580th during the year 2000 one. The

transcription is actually becoming less common, falling from 7,638th place to 9,925th.

US Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

. Op. cit.

Public Broadcasting Service The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the ...

.
How Popular Is Your Last Name?
" Accessed 6 Apr 2012. The Korean name Cho is more common still than Cao, befitting its frequency in Korea itself, where it makes up about 2% of the South Korean population: see

Cho (Korean name) Cho (, also written as Zo or Jo) is a Korean family name. As of 2000, there were 1,347,730 people by this surname in South Korea, about 2.95% of the total population. The name may represent either of the Hanja or . List of people with the surn ...

History

Cáo's former pronunciations have been reconstructed as ''*N-tsˤu'' in

Old Chinese Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese language, Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones ...

and ''Dzaw'' in

Middle Chinese Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of Chinese language, Chinese recorded in the ''Qieyun'', a rime dictionary first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expande ...

.Baxter, Wm. H. & Sagart, Laurent. '' ''. 2011. Accessed 11 October 2011. It originated from the Zhou-era Duchy of Cao founded by . The later claim that Cao is said to have been descended from the

Yellow Emperor The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch, or Huangdi ( zh, t=黃帝, s=黄帝, first=t) in Chinese, is a mythical Chinese sovereign and culture hero included among the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. He is revered as ...

via the Zhuanxu Emperor should not be confused with the Chinese surname Gao or the Vietnamese surname Cao. It was the origin of the modern Cāo and Zhu families. Yan (顏) was from Cao (曹). * Granted to Cao Guan, taking the official as his surname. It is said that during the reign of Zhuanxu, Gonggong competed with Zhuanxu for the "sovereignty" and a fight broke out. Gonggong tried to flood Zhuanxu by releasing water, but was killed by Zhuanxu. However, the descendants of Gonggong still served as water officials and held water control positions in the tribal alliance. During the Xia dynasty, flood control heroes Gun and Yu appeared again. Although Gun made great efforts, he was not successful in controlling the floods. Later, Yu summarized the lessons learned from Gun's failure to control floods by building embankments and blocking the flow, and switched to the method of dredging rivers and diverting blocked rivers (dredging stagnant rivers) to make floods flow smoothly from small to large and into large rivers. , finally controlled the flood and turned water damage into water conservancy. When Yu was controlling the floods, Lu Zhong's fifth son (also said to be the sixth son) An Zheng was at the right time. He was given the title of Cao Guan because of his contribution to assisting Xia Yu in controlling the floods. Cao Guan was an official who guarded slaves in a "circular land" prison. This was not a small official in the slave-owning regime whose main function was to suppress slaves at that time. An later took Guan as his surname. This is the beginning of the surname Cao. Cao An first lived in Caoshui, Lingbao County, Henan Province. This is the place where Cao An received his surname. * Another origin is that it is derived from the

ancestral name In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

of a descendant of Zhurong, , the founder of the state of Zhu, later named Zou, and located in modern Zouxian, Shandong. After the state was annexed by Chu during the Spring and Autumn period Cao (曹), along with Zhu and Zou, was adopted as a surname by its former subjects.The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland * from the name of a state, State of Cao (曹国), (located in Dingtao in Shandong province) granted to Zhenduo, the thirteenth son of the virtuous

King Wen of Zhou King Wen of Zhou ( zh, c=周文王, p=Zhōu Wén Wáng; 1152–1050 BC, the Cultured King) was the posthumous title given to Ji Chang ( zh, c=姬昌), the patriarch of the Zhou state during the final years of Shang dynasty in ancient China. J ...

. After the state was annexed by

, Cao (曹) was adopted as a surname. * Taken as a surname by the Sogdians when they came to China and became one of the " Nine Sogdian Surnames", also known as 'nine surnames of Zhaowu'.

Other surnames

Cao can also serve as the romanization for the Chinese surnames ''Cāo'' (), ''Cǎo'' (), and ''Cào'' () as well; however, they are not nearly so common. They were both unlisted among the ''Hundred Family Surnames'' and do not appear among any list of the current popular surnames. Cāo was likely ''*tsʰˤawʔ'' in Old Chinese and ''TshawX'' in Middle Chinese; its original meaning was "grasp". It originated from the given name of one of

Cao Cao Cao Cao (; ; ; 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde, was a Chinese statesman, warlord, and poet who rose to power during the end of the Han dynasty (), ultimately taking effective control of the Han central government. He laid the foundation f ...

's descendants after the establishment of

Cao Wei Wei () was one of the major Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic states in China during the Three Kingdoms period. The state was established in 220 by Cao Pi based upon the foundations laid by his father Cao Cao during the end of the Han dy ...

. Its modern use as a curse word depends on a recent homophone and is unrelated to the surname. Cǎo was likely ''*tsʰˤuʔ'' in Old Chinese, but had become a homophonous ''TshawX'' by Middle Chinese; its meaning is still "grass" and similar plants.

List of people with the surname

Historical figures

* Cao Teng, Eunuch of the Han dynasty, Cao Cao's adoptive grandfather *

Cao Song Cao Song (died 193), courtesy name Jugao, was an official who lived during the Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was the foster son of the eunuch Cao Teng and the father of the warlord Cao Cao, who rose to prominence in the final years of Easte ...

, Official of the Han dynasty, Cao Cao's father *

(155–220), Warlord and Chancellor of the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

, laid the foundation of Cao Wei * Consort Duan (Cao), concubine of the

Jiajing Emperor The Jiajing Emperor (16September 150723January 1567), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizong of Ming, personal name Zhu Houcong, art name, art names Yaozhai, Leixuan, and Tianchi Diaosou, was the 12th List of emperors of the Ming ...

during the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

, executed for conspiracy in a plot to assassinate him * Cao Fang (232–274), third emperor of the state of

in the

Three Kingdoms period The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Western Jin dynasty. Academically, the ...

* Cao Mao, Fourth emperor of the state of

in the

Cao Huan Cao Huan () (246 – 302/303), courtesy name Jingming, was the fifth and last emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. On 4 February 266, he abdicated the throne in favour of regent Sima Yan (later Emperor Wu of the J ...

, Fifth and last emperor of the state of

in the

* Cao Hong (d. 232), Cao Cao's cousin, general of

Cao Pi Cao Pi () (late 187 – 29 June 226), courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the ...

(187–226), Cao Cao's son, ended the

and founded the state of

in the

, ruled as the first emperor of Wei *

Cao Ren Cao Ren () (168 – 6 May 223), courtesy name Zixiao, was a military general serving during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China under the warlord Cao Cao, who was also his older second cousin. He continued serving in the state of Cao Wei � ...

(168–223), Cao Cao's cousin, general of

Cao Rui Cao Rui () (204 or 205 – 22 January 239), courtesy name Yuanzhong, was the second emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. His parentage is in dispute: his mother, Lady Zhen, was Yuan Xi's wife, but she later remarr ...

(205–239), Cao Pi's son, ruled as the second emperor of

Cao Shen Cao Shen or Cao Can (died 24 September 190 BCE), courtesy name Jingbo (), was a Chinese military general and politician. He served as a chancellor of the Western Han dynasty. He participated in the Chu–Han Contention on Liu Bang (Emperor Gaoz ...

(d. 190),

chancellor *

Cao Shuang Cao Shuang (died 9 February 249), courtesy name Zhaobo, was a Chinese military general and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the eldest son of Cao Zhen, a prominent general of Cao Wei. He initially ...

(d. 249), Cao Zhen's son, regent of

during Cao Fang's reign, later lost power to

Sima Yi Sima Yi (; ; 179 CE7 September 251 CE), courtesy name Zhongda, was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He formally began his political career in 208 under th ...

* Cao Xiu (d. 228), a distant nephew of Cao Cao, general of

Cao Zhang Cao Zhang () (189? – 1 August 223), courtesy name Ziwen, nickname "The Yellow Goatee" (黃鬚兒), was a prince of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was a son of Cao Cao, a warlord who rose to power towards the ...

(d. 223), Cao Cao's son, served as a general under his father * Cao Zhen (d. 231), a distant nephew of Cao Cao, general of

Cao Zhi Cao Zhi (; ; 192 – 27 December 232), courtesy name Zijian (), posthumously known as Prince Si of Chen (陈思王), was a prince of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China, and an accomplished poet in his time. His style o ...

(192–232), Cao Cao's son, a famous poet * Empress Cao Jie, Cao Cao's daughter, last Empress of the Han dynasty * Cao Guojiu, or royal uncle Cao, Song dynasty royalty immortalized as one of the

Eight Immortals The Eight Immortals () are a group of legendary ''Xian (Taoism), xian (immortals)'' in Chinese mythology. Each immortal's power can be transferred to a vessel () that can bestow life or destroy evil. Together, these eight vessels are called the ...

Chinese mythology Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature throughout the area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology encompasses a diverse array of myths derived from regional and cultural tradit ...

* Cao Bin, Military general of the Song dynasty * Cao Xueqin (1715 or 1724—1763 or 1764), author of the Chinese classic novel '' Dream of the Red Chamber'' *

Terence Cao Terence Cao Guohui (born 6 October 1967) is a Singaporean actor and businessman. Life and career Cao studied at Anglo-Chinese School for both his Anglo-Chinese School (Junior), primary and secondary education. Cao used to be a flight attenda ...

, Singaporean actor

Modern figures

* Cao Kun (1862–1938), a military leader in the Zhili clique during the

Warlord Era The Warlord Era was the period in the history of the Republic of China between 1916 and 1928, when control of the country was divided between rival Warlord, military cliques of the Beiyang Army and other regional factions. It began after the de ...

Cao Yu Cao Yu (, September 24, 1910 – December 13, 1996) was a Chinese playwright, often regarded as one of China's most important playwrights of the 20th century. His best-known works are ''Thunderstorm'' (1933), ''Sunrise'' (1936) and ''Peking Man' ...

(1910–1996), the pen name of Wan Jiabao, an important playwright in modern China * Huai-Dong Cao (b. 1959), mathematician and managing editor of the ''

Journal of Differential Geometry The ''Journal of Differential Geometry'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of mathematics published by International Press on behalf of Lehigh University in 3 volumes of 3 issues each per year. The journal publishes an annual supplement in book ...

'' * Cao Gangchuan (b. 1935), former Chinese Minister of Defence * Chin-hui Tsao (b. 1981), Major League Baseball pitcher for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

* Peter Tsao (1933–2005), Hong Kong civil servant * Tsao Chieh (1953–1996), Singaporean composer and engineer * Tsao Chun-yang (b. 1976), Taiwanese baseball player for the

Uni-President Lions The Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions, stylized as Uni-President 7-ᴇʟᴇᴠᴇn Lions, also known as Uni-Lions (), are a professional baseball team playing in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). The Lions are based in Tainan City, Ta ...

* Miguel Tsao, Taiwanese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs * Cho Tat-wah (1915–2007), Hong Kong actor * Mandy Cho (b. 1982), Hong Kong entertainer * Raymond Cho (b. 1936), Hong Kong politician * Raymond Cho (b. 1964), Hong Kong actor * Chor Yeok Eng (1930-2016), Singaporean politician * Gary Chaw,

Malaysian Chinese Malaysian Chinese, Chinese Malaysians, or Sino-Malaysians are Malaysians, Malaysian citizens of Chinese people, Chinese ethnicity. They form the second-largest ethnic group in Malaysia, after the Malaysian Malays, Malay majority, and , const ...

singer-songwriter based in

Cao Yupeng Cao Yupeng (; born 27 October 1990) is a Chinese professional snooker player. He won the 2011 Asian Under-21 Championship, thus qualifying for the professional main tour for the 2011–12 season. In his first season on the circuit, he reached ...

(Chinese snooker player) *

Cao Lu Cao Lu (; born August 30, 1987) is a Chinese singer, actress, and television personality. She was a member of the South Korean girl group Fiestar until her group's disbandment in 2018 and regrouped in August 22, 2024. Early life Cao Lu was bo ...

(b. 1987), Chinese singer, actress & former member of the K Pop girl group Fiestar * Tsao Chi-hung, Minister of Council of Agriculture of the Republic of China (2016–2017) * Cho Miyeon (b. 1997), Korean actress, dancer & main vocalist of the K-Pop girl group

(G)I-DLE I-dle (; stylized in all lowercase), formerly known as (G)I-dle (), is a South Korean girl group formed by Cube Entertainment in 2018. The group consists of five members: Miyeon, Minnie (singer), Minnie, Soyeon, Yuqi, and Shuhua. Originally a se ...

. Also plays as the voice & singer behind Ahri of K/DA ( LoL) * Cao Ruyin, (1967 or 1968–2008), Chinese construction worker and deceased victim of a murder case in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. His killer

Kho Jabing Kho Jabing (4 January 1984 – 20 May 2016), later in life Muhammad Kho Abdullah, was a Malaysian of mixed Chinese people, Chinese and Iban people, Iban descent from Sarawak, Malaysia, who partnered with a friend to rob and murder a Chinese const ...

, a Malaysian, was hanged in 2016. * Victor Dzau, (b. 1947), President of the United States National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) of the United States National Academy of Sciences * Cao Yang (born 1981), Chinese international football player *

Cao Shui Cao Shui (; born June 5, 1982), also known as Shawn Cao, courtesy name Yaou (Eurasian), pseudonym or ''hao'' Lord of Tower of Babel, is a Chinese poet, novelist, screenwriter and translator. He is one of the representative figures of Chinese Co ...

(born 1982), Chinese poet, writer, screenwriter and translator * Cao Yunzhu (born 2003), Chinese trampolinist

References

{{surname Chinese-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames Eight surnames of Zhurong

Distribution

History

Other surnames

List of people with the surname

Historical figures

Modern figures

See also

References