Rao is an Indian princely title cognate with Raja(King). It's also a royal surname acrossIndia,Pakistan,China,Taiwan,Italy andBrazil. Rao is also used as an addition to one's name or as a suffix to a male name in some places.
Rao is commonly added as a suffix to a person's name in southern , northern and western parts of India, in particular in the states of Andhra Pradesh,Karnataka, Konkan/Goa, uttarpradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana.Rao/Rai is a clan of Jat.Rao is the surname of Rajput of uttarpradesh , Rao is the surnames of Ahirs of Haryana and Rajasthan .Variants of the name include "Rai", "Raja", "Rayudu", "Rayar", "Rayulu", "Raut", "Raya", "Rana" and others. In the Gujarati diaspora, Rao is a common name among the Brahmbhatt or Barot community.India's ex-prime minister Narasimha Rao (whose last name is often featured in the any Times crossword puzzle) is a native of Andhra Pradesh inSouth India
The majority of Rao’s in Pakistanare Muslim Punwar (Pawar) Rajputs and Chauhan Rajputs Rao’s can be found all acrossPakistanand are found in large numbers in thePunjabProvince& as well as in Sindh. The Rao are famous for their customs, norms and traditions. Rao are very brave people, the majority of Rao’s are serving in Pakistan Armed Forces. Police & Civil Sevices at responsibile positions. In the Past, Rao Family participated in politics with big names. Major are Rao Sikandar Iqbal (Late) (Ex Defence Minister) & Rao Hashim etc, still Rao are the part of politics in Pakistani Politics with respect. Rao families prefer to marry in their own caste (Rao, Rana & Kaim Khani). After Indo Pak partition majority of Rao got settled in the cities of Punjab: Bahawalnagar, Maharwali, Khanewal, Lahore, Chichawatni, Pakpattan, Burewala , Vehari, Bahawalpur, Haroonabad, Okara, Depalpur, Sahiwal, Multan, Mailsi & many other cities. In Sindh they settled in District Karachi,Hyderabad, Badin, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar, Shaheed Benazirabad (Nawabshah), Umerkot, Tharparkar, Tando Allayar etc. They Speak Punjabi & Khari Boli in Punjab & in Sindh they known as Sindhi Rajput which is the addition in Sindhi Rajput after independence ofPakistan. In Sindh, Sindhi & Khari Boli is common language of Rao Family. They maintain an overarching tribal council (panchayat in the their dialect), which deals with a number of issues, such as punishments for petty crime or co-operation over village projects.[1] Rao’s are further categorized according to their geographical locations and education level. They maintain a distinct identity inPakistan. In 2002 elections ofPakistan, Rajputs were in the largest number in assemblies.
Rao(Chinese: ?; pinyin: Ráo) is a Chinese family name. However, it is not limited to just those geographical areas, but is also found in many other places in the world where people of Chinese descent reside.Literally, the surname means "abundant", "plentiful", "to spare", or "to forgive".The surname Rao is approximately 2200 years old, originated in the area near present-day Linfen county inShanxiprovince.
The Sicilian-Calabrian Italian surname Rao is pronounced in the Italian language similarly to the Indian pronunciation, although in theUnited Statesmany Rao’s of Italian descent pronounce the name "RAY-O." Examples are Rao's inNew York City, and Rao families inRhode IslandandNorth Carolina.
Most of the people with Rao surname inBrazilare the descendants of Italian settlers inBrazil. Quite a few people inBrazilstill have Rao as their surname.
