Chinese中文
曹
Cáo
Native name formChinese · east Asia
Cao
government department (an ancient sense of 曹)
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A state name, and other traditions
The Dictionary of American Family Names links one Cao tradition to the Zhou state granted to Zhenduo. After Song annexed that state, its name became a surname. The dictionary also describes a Cao An tradition associated with the state of Zhu, and a separate Sogdian tradition.
These are different origin accounts. They do not establish that every Cao family descends from one ancestor.
Cao surname entry — Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd ed. (2022), via AncestryCao (Chinese surname) — Wikipedia
The character matters
This entry covers 曹, read Cáo in Mandarin. Tsao is a Wade–Giles spelling; Cantonese spellings include Tso and Chaw. Vietnamese Cao written 高 and Chinese Cao written 操 represent different surnames.
Related names in East Asia
Only sourced connections in East Asian naming traditions appear here. Each form explains its relationship to this name; a shared character or reading does not establish a shared family line.
1 East Asian language documented.
Small details. Longer histories.
Fun facts
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Artifacts & historical records
Objects and records can illuminate a particular person or community. They do not establish the ancestry of everyone with the same surname.
No verified artifact has been added to this record yet.
Places & sources
Geographic context: China (representative country context). No worldwide distribution dataset is attached yet.
- Cao (Chinese surname) — Wikipediareference · checked 2026-10-05
- Cao surname entry — Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd ed. (2022), via Ancestryreference · checked 2026-10-05
Finding your roots
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