Rao

• As an Italian surname, reduced from Radulfo. See Rolf, Ralph, Raul, etc.
• As an Indian surname, from Marathi राव (rāv), Gujarati રાવ (rāv), Telugu రావు (rāvu), etc.; all ultimately from Sanskrit राजन् (rājan, “king”).
• As a Chinese surname, from the place name 饒／饶 (ráo). More at Rao.

Rao (plural Raos)

1. A surname.

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Rao is the 3075^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 11672 individuals. Rao is most common among Asian/Pacific Islander (78.55%) and White (17.02%) individuals.

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Rao”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 3, New York City: Oxford University Press, →ISBN.

• AOR, AoR, OAR, Ora, ROA, Roa, aro, oar, ora

Borrowed from Sicilian Rau, variant of dragu (“monster”), from Latin dracō, from Ancient Greek δράκων (drákōn).

Rao m or f by sense

1. a surname