Explore the Family Name Pao

The meaning of Pao

1. Chinese: variant of Bao. 2. Portuguese (Pão): metonymic occupational name for a baker, from pão ‘bread’. Some characteristic forenames: Chinese Hsien, Chen, Ching-I, Feng, Jia Ming, Jung, Ling, Lung, Minhui, Peiling, Po, Shu-Min.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Pao in the United States?

According to the data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Pao has increased between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked 24,763 in terms of popularity, but jumped significantly to 21,382 by 2010. This represents a 13.65% increase. The count of individuals with the Pao surname also rose from 944 to 1,224 during the same timespan, marking a 29.66% uptick. The proportion per 100,000 people grew by 17.14%, from 0.35 to 0.41.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#24,763	#21,382	13.65%
Count	944	1,224	29.66%
Proportion per 100k	0.35	0.41	17.14%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Pao

As for the ethnic identity associated with the surname Pao, as reported from the Decennial U.S. Census, the largest proportion belongs to the Asian/Pacific Islander category. However, this group's representation decreased slightly from 85.28% in 2000 to 84.64% in 2010. The two or more races category saw a significant decrease of 21.52%, falling from 6.04% to 4.74%. Meanwhile, the proportion of individuals identifying as White and Hispanic increased by 15.00% and 25.08% respectively, reaching 6.21% and 3.84%. Notably, the Black category appears in the 2010 data with 0.57%, despite no presence in 2000. The American Indian and Alaskan Native category remained at 0% in both years.

	2000	2010	Change
Asian/Pacific Islander	85.28%	84.64%	-0.75%
White	5.4%	6.21%	15%
Two or More Races	6.04%	4.74%	-21.52%
Hispanic	3.07%	3.84%	25.08%
Black	0%	0.57%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%