Zao

A boys’ name with no widely documented etymology — two syllables, given to 5 babies a year in the US.

Babies a year
5
the US, 2017
Rarity
Very rare
among names in use
US popularity
—
outside the top 1000
UK popularity
—
outside the ONS list

Zao by the numbers

Zao was given to 5 American babies in 2017, the most recent full year we hold.

Its American peak was 6 babies in 2011, making it a 2010s name.

What we can tell you about Zao

Not every name has a meaning to trace. Plenty are coined rather than inherited — invented outright, blended from two names, or respelled from an older one — and where we cannot find an etymology we can stand behind, we would rather say so than make one up. What follows comes from the birth records themselves.

Spelled almost the same

Other names in the records within a letter or two of Zao. Close spellings are not always related names, but they are usually worth seeing together.

  • Zacthe lord has remembered; a form of Zachary87 in England and Wales (2025)
  • Zakthe lord has remembered; a form of zachary62 in England and Wales (2025)
  • Zay14 in the US (2017)
  • Zae13 in the US (2017)
  • Zai3 in England and Wales (2025)
  • Zan6 in the US (2017)

Sounds like Zao

Names that are said the same way as Zao, however they are written. Sounding alike does not mean they share a history.

  • Zaahishining or radiant3 in England and Wales (2025)
  • Zahi8 in the US (2017)

Names about as common as Zao

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