ESC Name Rank Total Searching... No names found Try searching for: Emma, Liam, Olivia, Noah... 1990 First Year 1990 Last Year 1990 Peak Year #6415 Peak Rank 7 Total Count 1 Years Active Advertisement 🌍 ## Meaning & Origin of Shao What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures. Shao is a common Chinese family name. It is the 86th most populous family name in China. It corresponds to last name So in Korean; Thiệu or Thiều in Vietnamese; Zau in Wu Chinese/Shanghainese and Siu, Chow, or Sho in other Chinese romanisations. The origin of the family name Shao is thought to have come from the royal lines of the Zhou dynasty in ancient China. Source: [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shao) (CC BY-SA 3.0). [Read more → ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shao) 📖 ## The Story of Shao Shao first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1990, with 7 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 1990: 7 births, good for #6,415 nationwide. Shao last appeared in the published SSA data in 1990, with 7 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 7 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1990s to the 2020s. ## Popularity Over Time ## Popularity by State ME WA MT ND MN WI MI NY VT NH MA OR ID SD IA IL IN OH PA NJ CT RI CA NV WY NE MO KY WV VA MD DE DC UT CO KS AR TN NC SC AK AZ NM OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL Top 10 11-50 51-100 101-500 500+ No data ⭐ ## Notable people named Shao A small selection from Wikipedia. Tap "Read more" below to see the full list on Wikipedia. * ●Shao Yong ( 邵雍 ; 1011–1077), philosopher, cosmologist, poet and historian who greatly influenced the development of Neo-Confucianism in China during the Song dynasty * ●Shao Mi ( 邵弥 ; c. 1592–1642), Chinese landscape painter, calligrapher, and poet during the Ming dynasty * ●Shao Jiayi ( 邵佳一 ), Chinese soccer player * ●Shao Ning (born 1982), Chinese judoka * ●Shao Xunmei a.k.a. Zau Sinmay, Chinese poet and publisher * ●Shao Tong (1994–2014), Chinese student murdered in Iowa * ●The Shaw brothers: Runje Shaw (1896–1975) * ●Runde Shaw (1899–1973) Source: [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shao) (CC BY-SA 3.0). [Read more → ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shao) 🎶 ## Names that sound like Shao Phonetically similar names — useful when Shao is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name. * Schow * Shough * Hsiao * Shau * [Shaw](/shaw) * [Sha](/sha) * [Shah](/shah) * Shaa * Hsia * Shawe * Scha * Schah Source: [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated. ❓ ## Frequently Asked Questions about Shao What does the name Shao mean? Shao is a common Chinese family name. It is the 86th most populous family name in China. It corresponds to last name So in Korean; Thiệu or Thiều in Vietnamese; Zau in Wu Chinese/Shanghainese and Siu, Chow, or Sho in other Chinese romanisations. The origin of the family name Shao is thought to have come from the royal lines of the Zhou dynasty in ancient China. How popular is Shao in 2026? In 2026, Shao ranks #6,415 among boys' names in the U.S., with 7 babies given the name that year. When was Shao most popular? Shao reached its peak popularity in 1990, ranking #6,415 that year with 7 babies given the name. Is Shao a unisex name? In U.S. Social Security records, Shao is primarily a boy's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a girl's name. What names go well with Shao? Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Shao include Detroy, Eraclio, Blakley. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data. ## Similar Names [👦DetroyPeak #6415](/detroy)[👦EraclioPeak #6415](/eraclio)[👦BlakleyPeak #6415](/blakley)[👦DelanceyPeak #6415](/delancey)[👦MarvellePeak #6415](/marvelle)[👦ChalonPeak #6415](/chalon)[👦MickiPeak #6415](/micki)[👦DemekoPeak #6415](/demeko) Advertisement ## About the name Shao Shao is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1990 and has accumulated 7 births in the dataset. Shao's peak popularity came in 1990 when it ranked #6,415\. Use the chart and map above to compare Shao's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices. ### Continue exploring * [ Top names of 1990 → ](/year/1990) * [ Names of the 1990s → ](/decade/1990s) * [ Names starting with "S" → ](/letter/s) * [ Browse all boy names → ](/names/boys) * [ Top names of 2026 → ](/year/2026) Data sources * Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. [Social Security Administration ](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/). Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships. * Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — [Behind the Name ](https://www.behindthename.com/) (used under their public API terms). * Meaning prose and editorial summary — [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/) article extracts, licensed under [CC BY-SA 3.0 ](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/). * Predicted nationality distribution — [Nationalize.io ](https://nationalize.io/). * Phonetically similar names — [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides. Advertisement