Bao
A Vietnamese name meaning "treasure" or "precious."
Name Census estimates that about 1,371 living Americans carry the first name Bao. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 59.2% of registrations being male. The average person named Bao today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bao births was 1990 (72 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bao. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Bao with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Bao sits in rare territory as a truly gender-neutral name, given to boys and girls in near-equal numbers.
People living today
1.4K
~ 1 in 250,003 Americans
Peak year
1990
72 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,487
Tracked since 1976
Census
Bao in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 7,817 people with the first name Bao, which placed it at #2,913 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#2,913
National first-name rank
People counted
7.8K
7,817 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
98.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bao
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bao is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.1%. The next largest groups are White (0.8%) and Two or More Races (0.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Bao described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Bao at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander98.1% · 7,665
- White0.8% · 59
- Two or more races0.5% · 39
- Hispanic or Latino0.4% · 29
- Black or African American0.3% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Bao
Bao is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,420 total registrations, 840 (59.2%) were male and 580 (40.8%) were female.
Bao as a male name
- Ranked #6,487 in 2024
- 13 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1986 (31 births)
Bao as a female name
- Ranked #11,281 in 2002
- 8 female births in 2002
- Peak: 1990 (46 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Bao on both sides of the split. Of the 7,814 people counted with this name, 5,254 were male (67.2%) and 2,560 were female (32.8%).
Popularity
Bao: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bao from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 530 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bao by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Bao during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Baos live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Minnesota, Wisconsin recorded the most babies named Bao, while Texas, Wisconsin, Minnesota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 142 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Bao
The name Bao is a unisex name with origins traced back to various cultures and languages. It has been in use for centuries, with various meanings and connotations across different regions.
In Chinese, the name Bao is a common masculine given name that can have several meanings. One interpretation is "precious" or "treasure", derived from the Chinese character "寶" (bǎo). Another meaning is "to wrap" or "to embrace", originating from the character "包" (bāo). This name has been popular in Chinese culture for generations.
In Vietnamese, the name Bao is a feminine given name that means "precious" or "valuable". It is derived from the same Chinese character "寶" (bǎo) and has been used in Vietnam for centuries, often given to girls as a wish for them to be cherished and valued.
The name Bao can also be found in Japanese, where it is written as "宝" (hō or takarabako), meaning "treasure" or "precious". It is a unisex name in Japanese and has been used for both male and female children.
In terms of historical references, the name Bao appears in various ancient Chinese texts and records. One notable example is Bao Zheng, a famous Chinese government officer and judge who lived during the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD). He was renowned for his unwavering sense of justice and incorruptibility.
Another historical figure bearing the name Bao is Bao Qingtian, a Chinese poet and calligrapher who lived during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912 AD). He is known for his exceptional calligraphy skills and his contributions to the preservation of traditional Chinese arts.
Moving to Vietnam, one of the earliest recorded examples of the name Bao is Bao Ninh, a Vietnamese writer and former soldier who fought in the Vietnam War. He was born in 1952 and is best known for his acclaimed novel "The Sorrow of War", which explores the brutal realities of the conflict.
In Japan, the name Bao has been carried by several notable figures throughout history, including Bao Yukiko (1890-1980), a renowned Japanese author and feminist activist who advocated for women's rights and education.
Another famous Japanese figure with the name Bao is Bao Dai (1913-1997), the last emperor of Vietnam. He ascended to the throne in 1926 and ruled until his abdication in 1945, after which he lived in exile in France.
These are just a few examples of the rich history and diverse cultural meanings associated with the name Bao, a name that has been cherished and celebrated across various regions and time periods.
People
Bao + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bao as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Bao: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bao?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,371 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bao going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 250,003 US residents.
Is Bao a common name?
We classify Bao as "Rare". It ranks above 91.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,420 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bao most popular?
The single biggest year for Bao was 1990, when 72 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bao is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Bao in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 7,817 people with the name Bao, or 2.59 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,913 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Bao in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Bao?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Bao on both sides of the split. Of the 7,814 people counted with this name, 5,254 were male (67.2%) and 2,560 were female (32.8%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Bao?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bao is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.1%. The next largest groups are White (0.8%) and Two or More Races (0.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Bao most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Bao in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.1% (7,665 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Bao in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bao a male name?
Yes, 59.2% of people registered as Bao in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Bao still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bao in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Bao can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Bao as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.