Rao Surname

363rd
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 1,407,582 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
China
Highest density in:
Oman

Rao Surname User-submission:

Rao is used variously as both an Indian and a Chinese surname.

As an Indian surname, Rao has the same etymological roots as raja (meaning 'king') and has been used in courtesy titles, such as Rao Bahadur. In Telugu-speaking regions, Rao was used as a caste suffix for Velamas, before being adopted by Kammas, and later Kapus and Brahmins.

Read More About This Surname

Rao Surname Distribution Map

By incidenceBy frequencyBy rank
Incidence (high to low)Incidence (low to high)Alphabetic A-ZAlphabetic Z-ARank (high to low)Rank (low to high)
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
China773,1211:1,769149
India502,4491:1,527160
United Arab Emirates20,9401:43842
United States19,4611:18,6252,345
Oman10,0341:36841
Pakistan9,8121:18,2071,091
Taiwan8,9851:2,60999
Singapore8,2811:665109
Italy4,4541:13,7312,226
Sudan3,9201:9,5691,352
Rwanda3,4111:3,332821
Libya3,4061:1,833558
Malaysia3,2201:9,1601,062
England2,8601:19,4822,782
Kuwait2,8151:1,350145
Ethiopia2,7371:35,6404,079
Thailand2,6061:27,1062,583
Saudi Arabia2,3851:12,9371,813
Canada1,9351:19,0422,669
Fiji1,9171:46745
Australia1,8951:14,2462,023
Bahrain1,8371:73477
Angola1,5781:17,1032,033
Hong Kong1,4621:5,017239
Ghana1,3161:20,5322,529
Bangladesh1,2621:126,2735,065
Sri Lanka1,1691:17,8002,457
Indonesia1,0771:122,79412,384
Qatar1,0641:2,216194
Argentina7511:56,9154,810
Iran5931:129,48111,860
New Zealand5271:8,5931,483
France3971:167,31226,048
Macau2931:2,053219
Kenya2911:158,69412,495
Germany2511:320,73932,146
Egypt2441:376,78623,402
South Africa2271:238,66824,509
Brazil2101:1,019,40235,992
Japan1911:669,34216,671
Switzerland1761:46,6646,327
Peru1691:188,0728,964
Malawi1571:109,03912,664
Netherlands1261:134,02520,684
Spain1161:403,03521,972
Scotland761:70,4455,436
Mexico731:1,700,35917,324
Wales691:44,8484,288
Botswana611:35,8517,015
Nigeria611:2,903,98091,283
Russia551:2,620,419149,158
Papua New Guinea521:156,80221,647
Sweden521:189,36113,089
Tanzania471:1,126,41746,452
Belgium461:249,92730,800
Portugal381:274,16410,086
Myanmar361:1,442,722585
Poland361:1,055,79973,637
Norway351:146,92218,432
DR Congo341:2,172,929106,971
Philippines331:3,067,825142,207
Dominican Republic311:336,54611,471
Estonia311:42,6398,109
Uganda301:1,301,30950,636
Seychelles291:3,186566
Ireland251:188,3587,886
Austria221:387,06540,442
Uruguay221:155,98913,535
Iraq211:1,667,69816,789
Denmark201:282,23621,168
Solomon Islands191:30,5286,049
South Korea181:2,846,681560
Venezuela181:1,678,00421,578
Maldives171:23,7751,460
Vietnam171:5,449,7682,445
Afghanistan161:2,009,57414,441
Guam161:10,0081,526
Mozambique161:1,703,8482,274
Northern Ireland151:123,0027,073
Finland141:392,62226,475
Jamaica121:239,1626,359
Nepal111:2,589,1789,158
Ecuador101:1,590,58518,674
Iceland101:38,0092,599
Chile91:1,957,38629,026
Hungary91:1,090,69749,203
Kazakhstan91:1,964,72289,832
Uzbekistan91:3,436,57132,268
Zambia91:1,761,10232,119
Algeria81:4,828,94449,535
Czechia81:1,329,18491,312
Trinidad and Tobago71:194,8549,403
American Samoa61:9,2931,961
Cameroon61:3,461,511126,814
Grenada61:18,0891,003
Luxembourg61:96,7576,198
Bermuda51:13,0561,849
Brunei51:83,7461,811
Colombia51:9,554,81425,159
Guatemala51:3,216,5347,141
Jordan41:2,210,60920,372
Morocco41:8,619,02573,251
Togo41:1,811,9428,122
Turkmenistan41:1,372,2786,164
Yemen41:6,606,32425,896
Azerbaijan31:3,216,37432,290
Belarus31:3,167,020121,664
Benin31:3,445,20177,822
Cambodia31:5,162,38210,688
Congo31:1,663,03227,638
Cook Islands31:6,0601,122
Greece31:3,693,263126,191
Bahamas21:195,8761,708
Barbados21:143,7241,981
Burkina Faso21:9,176,05023,741
Cayman Islands21:31,9461,715
Georgia21:1,872,77235,618
Ivory Coast21:11,535,61661,806
Liberia21:2,204,26840,131
Mauritius21:646,70813,517
Niger21:9,596,00886,358
Panama21:1,956,12915,285
Romania21:10,038,93580,612
Senegal21:7,289,6718,117
Turkey21:38,910,711171,901
Albania11:2,914,05529,474
Andorra11:83,8382,381
Antigua and Barbuda11:99,1712,137
Armenia11:2,930,18022,770
Belize11:355,4743,977
Bulgaria11:6,978,90586,260
Burundi11:9,804,8522,349
Costa Rica11:4,780,06913,345
Cyprus11:884,87613,055
East Timor11:1,215,928507
Eritrea11:4,751,901911
Gambia11:1,923,4511,043
Gibraltar11:33,9541,660
Greenland11:56,3791,133
Guernsey11:64,4392,137
Guinea11:11,833,8173,268
Guyana11:762,22114,420
Isle of Man11:85,8224,091
Israel11:8,557,634182,558
Jersey11:99,2026,620
Kyrgyzstan11:5,972,65499,197
Latvia11:2,050,04660,295
Lebanon11:5,637,08332,436
Madagascar11:23,649,8379,420
Mali11:16,969,0354,067
Paraguay11:7,236,74616,511
Puerto Rico11:3,550,1399,109
Serbia11:7,144,94838,459
Slovenia11:2,487,67531,128
Ukraine11:45,522,696503,646
Wallis and Futuna11:13,610185
Show All Nations
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Scotland11:3,743,21632,299

The alternate forms: Ráo (8), Räo (2) & Raó (1) are calculated separately.

Rao (167,705) may also be a first name.

Rao Surname Meaning

User-submitted Reference

Rao is used variously as both an Indian and a Chinese surname.

As an Indian surname, Rao has the same etymological roots as raja (meaning 'king') and has been used in courtesy titles, such as Rao Bahadur. In Telugu-speaking regions, Rao was used as a caste suffix for Velamas, before being adopted by Kammas, and later Kapus and Brahmins.

The Chinese surname can be identified with the pinyin of Ráo. The character used for the surname is 饒 (traditional) or 饶 (simplified). The surname is believed to have been first used around 200 BCE near Linfen, Shanxi. It is one of the surnames found in the Bai Jia Xing (Hundred Family Surnames).

- hiteshd
DNA test information
Display Statistics on:

Rao Demographics

Rao Political Affiliation
in United States

Sample size: 3,598 (2014)

United States
Average

View the most partisan surnames in The United States

Rao Last Name Facts

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

The last name Rao (Arabic: ريّأ, Bengali: রাও, Hindi: राव, Marathi: राओ, Oriya: ରାଓ, Russian: Рао) is more commonly found in China than any other country or territory. It may also be rendered as: Ráo, Räo or Raó. Click here for further potential spellings of this name.

How Common Is The Last Name Rao? popularity and diffusion

It is the 363rd most frequent family name on earth It is held by around 1 in 5,177 people. It is primarily found in Asia, where 96 percent of Rao live; 56 percent live in East Asia and 56 percent live in Sino-East Asia. Rao is also the 6,271st most prevalent first name in the world. It is borne by 167,705 people.

It is most common in China, where it is borne by 773,121 people, or 1 in 1,769. Without taking into account China this last name occurs in 155 countries. It is also common in India, where 36 percent reside and The United Arab Emirates, where 1 percent reside.

Rao Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The occurrence of Rao has changed over time. In Scotland the number of people who held the Rao last name increased 7,600 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Rao Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those carrying the surname is principally Christian (83%) in Kenya.

In The United States those holding the Rao surname are 0.16999999999999% more likely to be registered with the Democratic Party than The US average, with 53.06% registered to vote for the political party.

The amount Rao earn in different countries varies greatly. In Italy they earn 14.92% less than the national average, earning €25,549 per year; in Norway they earn 53.83% more than the national average, earning 532,380 kr per year; in Peru they earn 17.32% less than the national average, earning S/. 16,027 per year; in South Africa they earn 30.56% more than the national average, earning R 310,260 per year; in United States they earn 29.53% more than the national average, earning $55,892 USD per year and in Canada they earn 21.09% more than the national average, earning $60,160 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

Incidence (high to low)Incidence (low to high)Alphabetic A-ZAlphabetic Z-ASimilarity (high to low)Similarity (low to high)Prevalent jurisdiction A-ZPrevalent jurisdiction Z-A
SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Ráo898/
Räo892/
Raó891/
Raho866,914/
Raos861,318/
Raoh86443/
Raot86364/
Raop86359/
Raoa86275/
Reao86232/
Raoy86221/
Raod86138/
Raou86121/
Raoo8660/
Raoi8636/
Rrao8625/
Raao8622/
Rauo8618/
Raoz8612/
Raeo867/
Raoj861/
Rhao861/
Hrao861/
Raío861/
Rađo861/
Rzao861/
Rgao861/
Rahou7515,200/
Raout752,015/
Raoux751,740/
Raoud751,418/
Rahoy751,028/
Rahho75733/
Rajio75276/
Raouh75275/
Raoot75220/
Rajjo75162/
Raouz75161/
Rahoi75107/
Ragio75104/
Hraňo7593/
Reaos7585/
Raous7565/
Raiyo7550/
Rajho7545/
Rahoj7542/
Raijo7535/
Rauot7533/
Rauos7524/
Raoch7523/
Rahgo7516/
Raoss7514/
Hraou7514/
Rayyo7513/
Reaðo756/
Rahoh756/
Raoop755/
Rahao755/
Raaou755/
Ra'ou755/
Hraoz755/
Raoph754/
Raoos754/
Raaho754/
Raaot753/
Raohe753/
Raayo752/
Rayio752/
Raoup751/
Rajyo751/
Raaos751/
Rhaod751/
Raodd751/
Raods751/
Raoiz751/
Raood751/
Rahoa751/
Hraho751/
Raoys751/
Raoût751/
Raohp751/
Raoid751/
Raois751/
Rauoi751/
Ra'op751/
Raaio751/
Raeho751/
Reaho751/
Raost751/
Raeoj751/
Roa67189,861/
Rahhou672,301/
Raoust67143/
Rahoux67113/
Rajjoo67106/
Rahout6760/
Rajjou6732/
Reaoch6729/
Raouph6728/
Rõa6719/
Raijos6717/
Rahoud6716/
Rahaou6715/
Roà6713/
Rajgoi6710/
Raouts6710/
Róo678/
Rôa677/
Raooph676/
Roó675/
Raaout674/
Rôo674/
Raoush674/
Raiyoa674/
Rauoot673/
Rahous673/
Rahgoo673/
Raihio673/
Rayjod672/
Rhaods672/
Rahotd672/
Raooee672/
Rahojh672/
Rajyos671/
Ragioo671/
Rahaod671/
Rahhod671/
Rahooh671/
Reaoud671/
Reaoux671/
Rhaout671/
Raothd671/
Roaova671/
Raouch671/
Rahoss671/
Rauopf671/
Róa671/
Roá671/
Roã671/
Roô671/
Rahgoi671/
Rahgou671/
Rahgoy671/
Raayio671/
Raoooo671/
Rahoch671/
Raijjo671/
Geerao671/
Show All Similar Surnames

Rao Name Transliterations

TransliterationICU LatinPercentage of Incidence
Rao in the Bengali language
রাওra'o-
Rao in the Oriya language
ରାଓra'o97.13
Rao in the Hindi language
रावrava90.62
राोrao4.46
राव्rav0.41
Show All Transliterations
Rao in the Marathi language
राओra'o79.37
रओra'o15.87
रंोramo3.17
Rao in the Russian language
Раоrao-
Rao in the Arabic language
ريّأrya-
راوraw-

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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 Rao
  • 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