Fun Facts About the Name Tao
- 443 babies named Tao: U.S. records list 443 babies given the name Tao from 1880 through 2025. Even 10 girls received the name Tao - about 1 girl for every 43 boys.
What Does the Name Tao Mean?
Tao is most often a romanized spelling of the Chinese word 道 (dào). Its literal sense is a physical road or path, and from that it widened to mean a way, method, or course of action. Chinese philosophy uses 道 for the underlying order of things, and the English names of the tradition built around that idea, Daoism and Taoism, come from the same word.
Chinese names are written with characters, so the letters Tao do not show which character a particular person's name uses, and the meaning depends on that character. Other characters romanized as tāo or táo are also common in names: 涛 "great wave," 滔 "surging, overflowing," 陶 "pottery; to mold; happy," and 桃 "peach." The spelling Tao follows the Wade-Giles system, which writes 道 with a plain t; the Pinyin system used in mainland China spells the same word Dao. The Vietnamese surname Tào, from Chinese 曹 (Cáo), is a different name that shares the same Latin letters.
Tao Name History & Origins
道 is an old word in Chinese writing. It is central to classical texts such as the Daodejing (Tao Te Ching), traditionally attributed to Laozi, and the Zhuangzi, and it became a key term in Chinese Buddhism and Neo-Confucian thought as well. Because it can mean both a literal road and a moral or cosmic course, 道 has long served as an element in Chinese given names, where it usually carries the sense of a principled path or way of living.
English readers met the word through translations and transliterations of Chinese classics. The spelling Tao became standard in English writing about China because Wade-Giles was the dominant romanization there until Pinyin gained international use in the 1980s. Names romanized as Tao therefore reach English with that older spelling already in place; in Chinese-speaking communities the name is written with a character, not these letters. In Vietnam the similar-looking Tào is a surname, not a given name. In English, Tao appears as a given name, usually reflecting the Chinese word or a family's Chinese or Vietnamese background.
An unrelated ancient Egyptian royal name is also rendered Tao, sometimes Taa. Seqenenre Tao, a 17th Dynasty king at Thebes in the mid-16th century BC, campaigned against the Hyksos, and his mummified body shows head wounds. The meaning of the Egyptian name is not securely established, and it has no connection to the Chinese word.
How Popular is the Name Tao?
Tao has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2021. Its best rank was #3,663 in 1973.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | #6,741 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #5,824 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2024 | #9,733 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2023 | #7,246 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2022 | #5,834 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2021 | #4,911 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 2020 | #8,644 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2019 | #8,795 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2018 | #6,654 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2017 | #7,483 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2016 | #5,529 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2015 | #5,957 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2014 | #6,582 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2013 | #10,598 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2012 | #5,955 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2011 | #5,915 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2010 | #5,705 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 2009 | #6,051 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2008 | #8,926 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 2007 | #7,026 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2006 | #6,416 | 13 | 0.0006% |
| 2005 | #7,584 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2004 | #8,075 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2003 | #6,667 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2002 | #5,107 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2001 | #6,394 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2000 | #6,258 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1999 | #9,776 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1997 | #10,636 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1995 | #8,759 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1991 | #8,128 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1989 | #6,851 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1986 | #6,635 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1985 | #7,462 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1984 | #4,174 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1980 | #4,465 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1978 | #6,651 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1977 | #6,747 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1975 | #6,234 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1974 | #4,580 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1973 | #3,663 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1972 | #3,924 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1970 | #4,670 | 6 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Tao Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You like to control everyone within your influence, to shape things to your own liking. If positive, you develop high spirituality, as you have a God's protection. You are sensitive, affectionate, imaginative and cooperative, spiritually aware and prone to self-sacrifice. You can keep secrets and are a good diplomat. You may have healing and psychic powers. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You desire to inspire and lead, to control other's affairs. You are giving, courageous and bold, action oriented,energetic and strong willed. You want to make a difference in the world, and this attitude often attracts you to cultural interests, politics, social issues, and the cultivation of your creative talents.
✦ Tao's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Tao's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.