Zhao usually represents the Chinese surname 趙, simplified as 赵, pronounced Zhào in Mandarin. Its principal surname explanation concerns an ancient place and ruling lineage. Although the character has an older sense connected with moving quickly, that does not make Zhao an occupational name for a runner. A second character, 招 (Zhāo), can also appear as Zhao when tone marks are omitted. Compare the dictionary explanations for Zhao.
The Character and Its Older Meaning
The Chinese University of Hong Kong's Multi-function Chinese Character Database explains 趙 as combining 走, associated with movement, and 肖 as a sound component. It gives the original sense as rapid walking and identifies 赵 as the simplified form. This is an account of the written character's construction and vocabulary history, not a description of a modern bearer's ancestor. CUHK, entry 趙.
Traditional 趙 and simplified 赵 are corresponding script forms, not evidence of two different surname origins. Preserve whichever form a family document uses: changing the script in your transcription can conceal a useful detail about the document, even when the surname remains the same.
From a Place Name to a Hereditary Lineage
The Dictionary of American Family Names traces 趙 to a fief at present-day Zhaocheng in Shanxi, traditionally granted by King Mu of Zhou to the charioteer Zao Fu. It connects that lineage with the later state of Zhao. This is a territorial surname tradition, not proof that all bearers descend from Zao Fu. The dictionary also records minority-group use and an alternative tradition involving Zhao Liang under the Xia dynasty; the latter should not be treated as a verified first-bearer record. Hanks, entry Zhao.
There is evidence beyond an origin story that the character served as a name in early China. CUHK distinguishes personal-name use in bronze inscriptions from surname use, citing the vessel inscription 趙孟庎. That distinction matters: an early occurrence of a character is not automatically evidence for a hereditary surname. An inscription attesting a surname still cannot supply the intervening generations of a present-day family tree. CUHK's inscription discussion.
For comparison, Chen also has an ancient territorial explanation. A shared type of origin does not connect the two surnames genealogically. The site's East Asian surname guide places Chinese names within their wider regional context.
A Different Zhao: 招
Hanks separately derives 招 from personal names, including a Chen prince's style name and the name Bu Zhao in Jin. This is a separate surname history, not a spelling variant of 趙. Zhao dictionary entry, second character.
For an English-language record reading only Zhao, leave the character unresolved until another source supplies it. A modern romanized spelling alone cannot establish the family's lineage, ethnicity, or ancestral village.
Zhao, Chao, and Dialect Spellings
The Library of Congress conversion table maps Wade–Giles chao to Pinyin zhao. It separately maps ch'ao to Pinyin chao. An apostrophe lost in an index can therefore erase a real pronunciation distinction. Search an older Chao record as a possible match, but do not assume that every Chao was originally Zhao. Library of Congress, correspondence table.
Other forms reflect regional pronunciations or registration conventions. FamilySearch's Chinese Surname Finder lists Ziu and Jiu as Cantonese forms for 趙/赵, and includes Chiu among its variants. Its separate entry for 周, normally Zhou in Mandarin, also includes Chiu. Thus a useful search spelling can point to more than one underlying surname. Compare the 趙/赵 and 周 tables.
Keep these categories separate: 趙 and 赵 are script equivalents; Zhao and Wade–Giles Chao can be romanizations of the same Mandarin syllable; a regional form may preserve a different pronunciation; 招 is a different character and surname. None of these equivalences is a family connection by itself. See our guide to Chinese dialects and romanization systems for a fuller search method.
Finding the Right Zhao Family
Begin with the most recent securely identified relative and work backward. The National Library of Australia recommends recovering both the Chinese name and the village and district of origin, and keeping the different names used by an ancestor. Its guide points to civil records, immigration and naturalisation records, gravestones, and Chinese newspapers. These are particularly useful when a Latin spelling has lost the original character. NLA, Chinese-Australian family history research guide.
- Copy the full name in Chinese. Photograph the original alongside your transcription. Establish whether the surname is 趙/赵 or 招 before choosing search equivalents.
- Build a spelling log. Record Zhao, Chao, or any regional form actually encountered, together with the date, language, and source. Keep hypothetical search forms separate from attested family spellings.
- Identify the locality precisely. Seek a village and district, not simply “China” or a province. Do not substitute the ancient Zhaocheng origin tradition for your ancestor's recorded home.
- Compare households, not just names. Match spouses, parents, children, addresses, ages, and document numbers. Keep competing candidates visible until the evidence separates them.
Once the locality and character are known, look for a jiapu 家譜 or zupu 族譜 associated with that branch. Sheau-yueh Chao's overview explains that these genealogies can record collateral lines, ages, marriages, births, deaths, and biographies. Chao, “Chinese Names and Genealogical Records for Jiapu”.
Check the genealogy's compilation date and connect a known relative through identifiable generations. An ancestral preface is a different kind of evidence from an entry naming a parent and child. Ask whether later records independently support that connection, and record gaps instead of bridging them with the surname's ancient pedigree. The surname evidence checklist helps keep those claims separate.
References
- Patrick Hanks, ed. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003; FamilySearch reproduction credited © 2003, 2006, entry Zhao, 趙 and 招.
- Chinese University of Hong Kong. Multi-function Chinese Character Database, entry 趙, especially the script correspondence and character-history discussion. Undated; accessed 7 September 2026.
- Library of Congress. New Chinese Romanization Guidelines, Pinyin Conversion Project, “Correspondence of Wade–Giles to Pinyin,” chao and ch'ao rows. Undated; accessed 7 September 2026.
- FamilySearch. *Chinese Surname Finder*, tables for 趙/赵 and 周. Undated; accessed 7 September 2026.
- National Library of Australia. *Chinese-Australian Family History Research Guide*, naming conventions and research resources. Undated; accessed 7 September 2026.
- Sheau-yueh (Janey) Chao. “Chinese Names and Genealogical Records for Jiapu”. Asian American / Asian Research Institute, City University of New York, lecture overview, 28 April 2006.