Tao Family History

Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 陶 meaning ‘ceramics’ in Chinese: (i) from the placename Tao (陶) said to be the original residence of the legendary Emperor Yao (c. 24th century BC). (ii) from Tao Zheng (陶正) ‘ceramics officer’ post name of an official in charge of the making of ceramics during the Western Zhou dynasty (1046–771 BC). (iii) borne by the descendants of the Shang dynasty (1600–1046 BC). The Tao family was one of the seven clans of the Shang dynasty that were sent to the state of Wey after the annihilation of the Shang dynasty.

Chinese: Cantonese form of the surname 竇 see Dou

Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 杜 see Du

Southeast Asian (Hmong): variant of Thao.

Japanese: written 田尾 ‘rice paddy tail’ meaning one who resides at the lower end of the paddy. Vietnamese (Tào): from the Chinese surname 曹 see Cao