The Mao surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,565 people carried this name — #6,153 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 52,900 people counted. That is up 38% from 4,047 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Mao surname
A common surname from Chinese, from Mandarin, usually referring to Mao Zedong.
From Mandarin 毛 (Máo).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Mao» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 577 people named Mao.
86 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 23 départements, most often Finistère.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 170 people named Mao 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 mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
85 people named Mao live in Switzerland.
They live in 8 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
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 21 people named Mao 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
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
156 people named Mao is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
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).
In print
Mao in American newspapers,
1878–1963.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 461,570 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Mao,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Mao Qiling 1623–1716 · poet -
Mao Yichang 1870–1920 -
Máo Fúméi 1882–1939 -
Mao Zedong 1893–1976 · writer -
Mao Zemin 1896–1943 · politician
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 292 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Mao.
- Manzi 2,668 · U.S. census
- Manzini 125 · U.S. census
- Manzo 13,635 · U.S. census
- Manzon 296 · U.S. census
- Manzone 208 · U.S. census
- Manzoni 263 · U.S. census
- Maqueda 732 · U.S. census
- Maquet 118 · U.S. census
- Mar 5,375 · U.S. census
- Mara 2,956 · U.S. census
- Marais 288 · U.S. census
- Maran 569 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Mao 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.