Gao
A common Chinese surname, also found in a few unrelated European forms.
The #2,948 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 25,365 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Gao is best known as a Chinese surname, usually written 高, meaning “high,” “tall,” or “elevated.” The name also appears in some European surname traditions as a separate formation, but the excerpts provided do not give a clear English etymology for it. Because the historical sources here mention only incidental examples and no direct surname entry, the safest conclusion is that the name is used in more than one language with unrelated origins.
History
In Chinese usage, Gao is an ancient surname and remains common today, especially in China and among overseas Chinese communities. The small number of U.S. bearers reflects modern immigration rather than an old established English surname tradition. The provided 19th-century excerpts do not supply a firm historical pedigree for the name in English-speaking genealogy.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In pinyin, 高 is spelled Gao, while older romanization systems often render the same surname as Kao.
From the historical record
“1740. Uanied — Jobn Boai and Ana KamS: St. Gao. Cbp. M^£alr, p. 131- 1770. — Robert Lamb and Haiy Kainea: St. Geo. Han. So. i. MO. Fbiladelphia, o, i.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances