Gao is an East Asian surname of Chinese origin that can be literally translated as "high" or "tall". There are approximately 17 million living people with this surname. Some places, such as Taiwan, usually romanise this family name into "Kao". In Hong Kong, it is romanized to "Ko". In Macau, it is romanized to "Kou". In English, it is romanized to "Kauh". In 2019 it was the 19th most common surname in Mainland China. The Korean surname, "Ko" or "Koh", is derived from and written with the same Chinese character (高).

Romanisation and pronunciation

Origin

According to Lüshi Chunqiu, the earliest figure with the Gao surname was Gao Yuan (高元) who created dwellings in antiquity. Zhuanxu, the grandson of the Yellow Emperor, was also known as Gao Yang (高陽). Another origin of Gao is the Jiang (姜) surname. According to the Song dynasty encyclopedia Tongzhi, an early ancestor was Gao Xi (高傒) who was granted the surname Gao in honour of his grandfather Prince Gao (公子高). Prince Gao was the son of Duke Wen of the state of Qi whose ancestral name was Jiang (姜). Many non-Han Chinese used the surname Gao:

Notable people

Historical

Modern

Kao

Kō

Cao