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Around the globe, Bǎo (宝 , 保 , 寶 ) is a widespread primarily male, but very seldom female first name. The given name Bǎo is characteristic of Eastern Asia, particularly China, where it is quite a rare primarily male, but scarcely female name. Also, Bǎo is the last name as well as the forename.
Bǎo is also a name for the fictitious and mythical characters: Jia Baoyu , the principal character in the classic Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber and Zhang Bao , the Water Margin character.