How Many People Are Named Chao?
An estimated 304 people in the United States have the first name Chao. It is used for both genders, with 88.8% male. The average bearer is 42 years old, and Chao peaked in popularity in 1985 with 26 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Chao as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Chao paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
304
About 1 in 1,127,481 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
88.8% confidence
Average Age
42
years old
Peak Year
1985
26 births
Total Registered
320
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Chao
Chao is predominantly male (88.8%), though 36 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Chao as a male name
Ranked #12,467 in 2013
5 male births in 2013
Peak: 1985 (18 births)
Chao as a female name
Ranked #13,667 in 1992
5 female births in 1992
Peak: 1985 (8 births)
Chao: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Chao span from the 1970s to the 2010s, covering 5 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1980s, when 166 babies were registered. Chao has declined significantly from its peak in the 1980s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Chao by Decade
How has Chao tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Chao by State
Chao + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Chao as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Chao
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
Chao: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chao?
We estimate approximately 304 people named Chao are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 1,127,481 Americans share this first name.
Is Chao a common name?
Chao is classified as "Very Rare" and is more popular than 79.4% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 320 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Chao most popular?
Chao reached peak popularity in 1985, when 26 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Chao is approximately 42 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Chao a male name?
Chao is predominantly male. 88.8% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Chao Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Chao Smith, Chao Johnson, Chao Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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