Tao
Meaning
great waves (濤)
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Tao has stayed rare in US records the whole time: no peak decade to name.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
51 people · the #65,741 first name in Brazil · median age 31
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Tao
Most people given the name Tao in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Tao deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Tao truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Tao fits with your family’s names and surname.
Where Tao travels
Dual-language · way, path (道), or wave (涛); already a recognized English-language loanword through Taoism and the Tao Te Ching, which gives it a rare running start as a first name for English speakers who've never met a Tao before
Keep exploring
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