The Gao surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 12,172 people carried this name — #2,948 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 24,200 people counted. That is up 125% from 5,405 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Gao surname

From Mandarin 高 (Gāo).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Gao» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 644 people named Gao live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 338
City of Buenos Aires 213
Tucumán 67
Córdoba 26

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

246 people named Gao live in Switzerland.

They live in 16 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Zurich 90
Vaud 38
Geneva 31
Aargau 11
Bern 11
Basel-Stadt 10
Zug 8
St. Gallen 8

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In Belgium’s population register

At least 92 people named Gao live in Belgium.

Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Flemish Brabant.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Flemish Brabant 29
Brussels-Capital 20
Antwerp 14
East Flanders 12
Walloon Brabant 6
Liège 6
Hainaut 5

Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 41 people named Gao.

Most of them — 35 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 3 départements, most often Seine-Saint-Denis.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 35
Seine-Saint-Denis 3
Paris 2
Vosges 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In the Nordic population registers

411 people named Gao are counted in Sweden and Finland.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 380
Finland (2026) 31

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

In print

Gao in American newspapers,
1909–1918.

Newspaper page from Martinsburg W Va Evening Journal carrying the name Gao
Martinsburg W Va Evening Journal 1918-07-25
Newspaper page from The Wahpeton Times carrying the name Gao
The Wahpeton Times 1909-11-18
Newspaper page from La Junta Tribune carrying the name Gao
La Junta Tribune 1912-02-17

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 822 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Gao in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

1,894 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Gao. The most, 389, date from the 1890s.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 566
Victoria 535
Queensland 254
South Australia 232
Western Australia 155
Tasmania 140
ACT (Canberra) 9

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Gao.

Who carried it

People named Gao,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Gao Liansheng d. 1869 · military personnel
  • Gao Dezheng d. 559 · politician
  • Gaojia Guanghou d. 1815 · politician
  • Gao Mohan d. 959 · politician
  • Gao Bangzuo d. 1622 · politician
  • Gao Wenxiu d. 1290 · playwright

Wikidata (CC0).

In the public record

People named Gao,
in the records of 2 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States4 records

4 records of the Gao name in the United States
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 3
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 1
  1. The receipt card sent under the U.S. Alien Registration Act of 1940
    Example: U.S. alien registration card, 1940s
    Alien registration Ren Y. Gao

    Born 1906 in China. Registered as a foreign national in Boston, Massachusetts, under the Alien Registration Act of 1940.

    U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain)
  2. An Oregon State Board of Health certificate of death, 1910
    Example: U.S. death certificate, 1910
    Death record Fidel Gao

    Died 1963 in New York State, aged 62.

    New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index
  3. The receipt card sent under the U.S. Alien Registration Act of 1940
    Example: U.S. alien registration card, 1940s
    Alien registration Marjorie Gao

    Born 1913 in Great Britain. Listed in the U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955.

    U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain)

Showing 3 of 4 records for Gao in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Alien Registration Receipt Card, Form AR-3, photo by Bobjgalindo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0); Certificate of death, Oregon State Board of Health, 1910, Oregon State Archives (public domain).

France6 records

6 records of the Gao name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Maria Adoracion Gao

    Born 1898 in Spain; died 1993 in Bagnols-sur-Cèze (Gard).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Louis Gao

    Born 1934 in Drancy; died 1998 in Bobigny (Seine-Saint-Denis).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Zhi Jin Gao

    Born 1949 in China; died 1999 in Paris.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 6 records for Gao in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Gao.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Gao is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Gao volume
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