Ko Surname

528th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 1,025,769 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
South Korea
Highest density in:
South Korea

Ko Surname User-submission:

A Cantonese variant of 'Gao' in Mandarin, which means 'high'. It is also a Korean surname. The kanji of this name in Japanese is 'Taka'.

Ko Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
South Korea481,9931:10624
Myanmar265,9431:19543
North Korea94,7331:26546
Hong Kong41,9141:17546
Laos30,5041:21677
Japan23,1341:5,526872
United States16,0891:22,5282,827
Vietnam13,6521:6,786225
Singapore11,9191:46275
India10,8291:70,8344,803
Malaysia3,7391:7,888941
Thailand3,7131:19,0251,533
Canada3,6271:10,1591,516
Egypt3,5391:25,9782,903
Burkina Faso3,3481:5,482611
Philippines2,5911:39,0736,083
Australia1,2111:22,2923,074
Cambodia1,1551:13,4091,081
Macau1,1121:541106
United Arab Emirates9711:9,4361,191
Pakistan8761:203,9314,959
England7131:78,1468,768
Cameroon6961:29,8414,033
Indonesia6221:212,61919,965
China5781:2,365,608368
Taiwan5141:45,612522
Sri Lanka5121:40,6424,863
Morocco5111:67,46811,380
Bangladesh4511:353,3419,758
New Zealand3241:13,9762,435
Nigeria3241:546,73726,707
Brazil3041:704,19225,854
Papua New Guinea2391:34,1164,010
Saudi Arabia2391:129,10417,726
Netherlands2061:81,97713,715
Germany2011:400,52536,990
France1671:397,74158,569
Iran1581:485,96529,156
Kuwait1541:24,6803,145
Afghanistan1441:223,2863,999
Mexico1241:1,001,01813,136
Ivory Coast1181:195,5198,450
Kenya1151:401,56422,499
Qatar941:25,0852,628
Uzbekistan931:332,5718,901
Guam821:1,953256
South Africa741:732,13151,520
Dominican Republic691:151,2025,897
Argentina671:637,96144,681
DR Congo621:1,191,60673,277
Bahrain591:22,8584,582
Liberia591:74,7216,295
Portugal571:182,7767,697
Spain551:850,03734,138
Greece491:226,11835,110
Switzerland471:174,74315,901
Poland451:844,63965,213
Ukraine431:1,058,66796,518
Estonia381:34,7846,408
Iraq371:946,53112,381
Sweden361:273,52118,976
Mauritius341:38,0427,089
Czechia321:332,29640,874
Senegal321:455,6042,071
Benin311:333,40726,304
Chile311:568,27313,994
Italy291:2,108,85190,314
Israel261:329,14027,831
Kyrgyzstan221:271,48424,701
Paraguay221:328,9435,083
Scotland191:281,78013,396
Suriname191:29,0855,642
Austria181:473,08046,251
Bulgaria171:410,52419,195
Denmark171:332,04223,714
Norway171:302,48730,120
Belize161:22,2171,827
Nepal161:1,780,0607,778
Oman161:230,4983,970
Ireland131:362,22614,761
Georgia131:288,11913,907
Latvia121:170,83720,647
Belgium111:1,045,14978,166
Kazakhstan111:1,607,50079,317
Ecuador101:1,590,58518,674
Venezuela101:3,020,40831,795
Albania91:323,78416,217
Finland91:610,74534,002
Ghana91:3,002,29911,581
Sudan91:4,167,7995,799
American Samoa81:6,9701,431
Lebanon81:704,63514,756
Azerbaijan71:1,378,44618,562
Niger71:2,741,71749,802
Northern Ireland61:307,50612,899
Algeria61:6,438,59253,709
Tunisia61:101,77114,710
Uganda61:6,506,546123,710
Wales61:515,75523,171
Syria51:3,860,20411,832
Angola41:6,747,3046,999
Bosnia and Herzegovina41:884,10015,259
Brunei41:104,6832,048
Central African Republic41:1,128,848387
Ethiopia41:24,386,56619,165
Jamaica41:717,48710,371
Libya41:1,560,9943,087
Madagascar41:5,912,4595,394
Mongolia41:706,32211,365
Panama41:978,06412,245
Togo41:1,811,9428,122
Bhutan31:205,3461,091
Cyprus31:294,9598,690
Jordan31:2,947,47921,051
Serbia31:2,381,64930,913
Zimbabwe31:5,146,080115,446
Colombia21:23,887,03632,612
Hungary21:4,908,13864,617
Lithuania21:1,517,29435,813
North Macedonia21:1,050,73626,362
Peru21:15,892,06251,966
Romania21:10,038,93580,612
Tanzania21:26,470,806111,653
Antigua and Barbuda11:99,1712,137
Armenia11:2,930,18022,770
Bahamas11:391,7512,737
Costa Rica11:4,780,06913,345
Croatia11:4,228,60499,289
Cuba11:11,522,71617,380
Eritrea11:4,751,901911
French Polynesia11:280,8057,211
Gambia11:1,923,4511,043
Guatemala11:16,082,66812,169
Honduras11:8,816,4429,272
Iceland11:380,09011,096
Jersey11:99,2026,620
Lesotho11:2,032,55823,402
Luxembourg11:580,54215,155
Malawi11:17,119,10934,144
Maldives11:404,1727,269
Namibia11:2,409,40119,676
New Caledonia11:276,22310,363
Nicaragua11:6,021,0908,768
Northern Cyprus11:319,01110,202
Russia11:144,123,056881,408
Slovakia11:5,336,450140,422
Slovenia11:2,487,67531,128
Solomon Islands11:580,02922,243
Trinidad and Tobago11:1,363,97522,013
Turkmenistan11:5,489,11211,427
Uruguay11:3,431,75838,295
Zambia11:15,849,92253,989
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States481:1,046,22361,047

The alternate forms: (4), (1) & (1) are calculated separately.

Ko (769,445) may also be a first name.

Ko Surname Meaning

User-submitted Reference

A Cantonese variant of 'Gao' in Mandarin, which means 'high'. It is also a Korean surname. The kanji of this name in Japanese is 'Taka'.

- airetsnym

Ko Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Ko Come From? nationality or country of origin

Ko (Bengali: কো, Hindi: को, Marathi: को, Oriya: େକା, Tibetan: ཀོ།) occurs in South Korea more than any other country/territory. It may appear as: , or . For other potential spellings of this last name click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Ko? popularity and diffusion

The surname Ko is the 528th most frequently held last name world-wide, borne by approximately 1 in 7,104 people. The surname Ko occurs mostly in Asia, where 97 percent of Ko are found; 63 percent are found in East Asia and 56 percent are found in Koreanic Asia. It is also the 1,230th most commonly held forename throughout the world, borne by 769,445 people.

The last name Ko is most widespread in South Korea, where it is borne by 481,993 people, or 1 in 106. In South Korea Ko is primarily concentrated in: Gyeonggi Province, where 22 percent reside, Seoul, where 20 percent reside and Jeju Province, where 9 percent reside. Aside from South Korea it occurs in 151 countries. It also occurs in Myanmar, where 26 percent reside and North Korea, where 9 percent reside.

Ko Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The frequency of Ko has changed through the years. In The United States the number of people carrying the Ko last name expanded 33,519 percent between 1880 and 2014.

Ko Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those carrying the last name is chiefly Orthodox (100%) in Georgia, Orthodox (77%) in Russia, Muslim (100%) in Kazakhstan, Christian (71%) in Nigeria and Orthodox (74%) in Ukraine.

In The United States those bearing the Ko last name are 5.37% more likely to be registered Democrats than the national average, with 58.6% being registered to vote for the political party.

The amount Ko earn in different countries varies greatly. In Norway they earn 9.83% less than the national average, earning 312,056 kr per year; in Peru they earn 327.26% more than the national average, earning S/. 82,825 per year; in South Africa they earn 13.18% more than the national average, earning R 268,968 per year; in United States they earn 21.65% more than the national average, earning $52,489 USD per year and in Canada they earn 24.65% more than the national average, earning $61,930 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
834/
831/
831/
Kou80412,508/
Kho80121,119/
Koh8092,528/
Koo8033,433/
Kuo8023,523/
Koi8023,049/
Koy8018,752/
Koa808,262/
Koj806,555/
Koş802,973/
Koï801,814/
Koß80973/
Cko80133/
Kgo8046/
Koľ8039/
Koî8026/
Kko8023/
Hko8013/
Gko8012/
Kco8011/
Koś809/
Koć807/
Kqo806/
Qko802/
Koĺ801/
Khoo6747,960/
Khoa679,867/
Khoi679,337/
Kouh673,981/
Kooy673,153/
Khoy671,701/
Khou671,581/
Khoh671,163/
Khoj671,057/
Kohu67448/
Kocz67339/
Kojs67320/
Koyš67266/
Koiš67265/
Kosť67226/
Koňa67102/
Kohh67102/
Kohy6763/
Kuoe6762/
Koyh6757/
Koij6754/
Koih6748/
Kuoy6748/
Kojš6742/
Kooß6730/
Khuo6721/
Kohz6721/
Hkoy6718/
Koiy678/
Ko'e677/
Kozs676/
Košš676/
Kojë676/
Kuoa675/
Kojj674/
Kooa674/
Kooj674/
Kooe674/
Ckoh674/
Kcoa674/
Kcoh673/
Kosp673/
Ko'a673/
Ckoy672/
Kobp672/
Qkoh672/
Kooš672/
Koșa672/
Khho672/
Kkoo672/
Kkop672/
Gkoi672/
Kuod672/
Kgco672/
Kkou672/
Kcuo672/
Kotë672/
Hkoi672/
Kcoi671/
Kkho671/
Kohp671/
Hkho671/
Hkos671/
Kcou671/
Kohj671/
Koiś671/
Kojś671/
Koëp671/
Koğa671/
Koyï671/
Kouß671/
Gkoh671/
Gkop671/
D'Ko671/
Qkho671/
Qkoa671/
Qkoz671/
Cgko671/
Ckoi671/
Ckoo671/
Ckqo671/
Ckuo671/
Cqko671/
Kqoi671/
Kqoj671/
Kqoy671/
Kqoz671/
Koïs671/
Gkco671/
Gkgo671/
Gkoj671/
Hhko671/
Hkop671/
Hkou671/
Kkko671/
Kkoa671/
Kkoi671/
Kkoz671/
Kkqo671/
Kkuo671/
Kojd671/
Kojh671/
Kodt671/
Kgoh671/
Kgoi671/
Kgoj671/
Kgou671/
Kcko671/
Kuoz670/

Ko Name Transliterations

TransliterationICU LatinPercentage of Incidence
Ko in the Bengali language
কোko-
Ko in the Oriya language
େକାeka-
Ko in the Marathi language
कोko94.83
कॉko5.17
Ko in the Hindi language
कोko89.4
कुku9.93
मोmo0.33
को़ko0.33
Ko in the Tibetan language
ཀོ།ko50
ཀོ་ko50

Search for Another Surname

The name statistics are still in development, sign up for information on more maps and data

By signing up to the mailing list you will only receive emails specifically about name reference on Forebears and your information will not be distributed to 3rd parties.

Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Ko
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis