Cao (Chinese surname)

Updated 2026-08-07

Cao (Chinese: 曹; pinyin: Cáo) is a Chinese surname. It is the pinyin romanization of the Chinese character 曹. The surname is listed 26th in the Song-era Hundred Family Surnames poem. It is romanized as "Tsao" in Wade-Giles (Ts'ao), which is widely adopted in Taiwan, although the apostrophe is often omitted in practice. Other romanizations include "Cho," "Tso," and "Chaw" in Cantonese; "Chou," "Chô," and "Chow" in Hokkien; and "Chau" and "Chow" in Teochew.

Distribution

Cao is the 30th-most-common surname in mainland China as of 2019 and the 58th-most-common surname on Taiwan. In the United States, the romanization "Cao" is a fairly common surname, ranked 7,425th during the 1990 census and 2,986th during the 2000 census. It is one of the few Chinese surnames whose pinyin transcription is more common than other variants. The Korean name "Cho" is more common still, befitting its frequency in Korea, where it makes up about 2% of the South Korean population.

Origins and History

The character 曹 originally signified a group of people, specifically court officials or subordinates in a legal or administrative setting. Its former pronunciations have been reconstructed as *N-tsˤu in Old Chinese and Dzaw in Middle Chinese.

The surname has multiple documented origins:

From an official title: During the reign of the legendary emperor Zhuanxu, a figure named An Zheng was given the title of Cao Guan (an official who guarded slaves in a circular-land prison) for his contribution to assisting Xia Yu in flood control. An later took the title as his surname, establishing one branch of the Cao family.
From the State of Zhu: The surname is derived from the ancestral name of a descendant of Zhurong, Yan An, the founder of the state of Zhu (later named Zou), located in modern Zouxian, Shandong. After the state was annexed by Chu during the Spring and Autumn period, Cao, along with Zhu and Zou, was adopted as a surname by its former subjects.
From the State of Cao: The surname originated from the Zhou-era Duchy of Cao (曹国), located in Dingtao in Shandong province, which was granted to Zhenduo, the thirteenth son of King Wen of Zhou. After the state was annexed by Song, Cao was adopted as a surname by its descendants.
From Sogdian immigrants: The surname was also taken by Sogdians when they came to China, becoming one of the "Nine Sogdian Surnames" (also known as the "nine surnames of Zhaowu").

Other Surnames Romanized as Cao

Cao can also serve as the romanization for the Chinese surnames Cāo (操), Cǎo (草), and Cào (鄵), though these are not nearly as common. They are unlisted among the Hundred Family Surnames and do not appear among current popular surname lists.

Notable Bearers

Historical Figures

Cao Cao (155–220), warlord and Chancellor of the Han dynasty, who laid the foundation of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period
Cao Pi (187–226), Cao Cao's son, who ended the Han dynasty and founded the state of Cao Wei, ruling as its first emperor
Cao Zhi (192–232), Cao Cao's son and a famous poet
Cao Xueqin (1715/1724–1763/1764), author of the Chinese classic novel Dream of the Red Chamber
Cao Bin, military general of the Song dynasty
Cao Guojiu, a Song dynasty royal uncle immortalized as one of the Eight Immortals in Chinese mythology

Modern Figures

Cao Kun (1862–1938), military leader in the Zhili clique during the Warlord Era
Cao Yu (1910–1996), pen name of Wan Jiabao, an important playwright in modern China
Cao Gangchuan (b. 1935), former Chinese Minister of Defence
Huai-Dong Cao (b. 1959), mathematician and managing editor of the Journal of Differential Geometry