Mao
A unisex Chinese name meaning "hair" or "fur".
Name Census estimates that about 283 living Americans carry the first name Mao. It is a predominantly female name (96.6% of registrations). The average person named Mao today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mao births was 1991 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mao. 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.
People living today
283
~ 1 in 1,211,146 Americans
Peak year
1991
21 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
1993 SSA rank
#9,623
Tracked since 1980
Census
Mao in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,049 people with the first name Mao, which placed it at #7,448 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
#7,448
National first-name rank
People counted
2.0K
2,049 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
93.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mao
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mao is Asian/Pacific Islander at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Black (2.0%). 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 Mao 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 Mao at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander93.1% · 1,908
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 51
- Black or African American2.0% · 42
- White1.4% · 29
- Two or more races0.9% · 19
Gender
Gender distribution for Mao
Mao leans heavily female at 96.6% of total registrations, but 10 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Mao as a male name
- Ranked #9,623 in 1993
- 5 male births in 1993
- Peak: 1991 (5 births)
Mao as a female name
- Ranked #17,886 in 2016
- 5 female births in 2016
- Peak: 1983 (17 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Mao on both sides of the split. Of the 2,057 people counted with this name, 706 were male (34.3%) and 1,351 were female (65.7%).
Popularity
Mao: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mao from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 121 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
Mao 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 Mao during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Maos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Mao
The name Mao is derived from the Chinese language and has its roots in ancient Chinese culture. It is believed to have originated from the word "毛" which means "hair" or "fur" in Mandarin Chinese. This word can be traced back to the earliest written records of the Chinese language, dating back to the Shang Dynasty around 1600-1046 BC.
One of the earliest known references to the name Mao can be found in the classic Chinese text, the Analects of Confucius, which was written during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China (770-476 BC). In this text, the name Mao is mentioned as the surname of one of Confucius' disciples, Mao Qing.
Throughout Chinese history, the name Mao has been associated with several notable figures. One of the most famous individuals with this name is Mao Zedong (1893-1976), the founding leader of the People's Republic of China and the principal figure of the Chinese Communist Revolution.
Another notable historical figure with the name Mao was Mao Dun (1896-1981), a renowned Chinese writer and cultural critic who was one of the pioneers of the modern Chinese literary movement. His works, such as "Midnight" and "Rainbow," explored the social and political issues of his time and are considered classics of 20th-century Chinese literature.
In the realm of Chinese philosophy, the name Mao is associated with Mao Qiling (326-376 AD), a prominent Daoist thinker and alchemist during the Eastern Jin Dynasty. He is credited with contributing to the development of the Daoist tradition of inner alchemy and the pursuit of immortality.
Moving to the world of arts, Mao Xiang (1611-1693) was a renowned Chinese painter and calligrapher during the Qing Dynasty. His works, particularly his landscape paintings, are celebrated for their innovative techniques and unique styles, and he is regarded as one of the most influential artists of his time.
Another historical figure with the name Mao is Mao Zedong's wife, Mao Lian (1867-1910). She was a prominent feminist and activist who advocated for women's rights and education in early 20th-century China, and her efforts contributed to the advancement of the women's movement in the country.
People
Mao + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mao as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Mao: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mao?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 283 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mao 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 1,211,146 US residents.
Is Mao a common name?
We classify Mao as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 295 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mao most popular?
The single biggest year for Mao was 1991, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mao is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mao in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,049 people with the name Mao, or 0.68 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,448 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 Mao 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 Mao?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Mao on both sides of the split. Of the 2,057 people counted with this name, 706 were male (34.3%) and 1,351 were female (65.7%). 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 Mao?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mao is Asian/Pacific Islander at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Black (2.0%). 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 Mao most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Mao in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (1,908 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 Mao in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mao a female name?
Yes, 96.6% of people registered as Mao in the SSA data are female. 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 Mao still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mao 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 Mao 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 the name Mao?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Mao on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.