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Throughout the world, Чао (Chao
, Ciao
, Чао
) is a common gender-neutral forename. The first name Чао is characteristic of Eastern Asia, particularly Macao, where it is quite a common epicene name, Taiwan, where it is quite a rare epicene name, and Hong Kong. Not in comparison with a country's population, the name is most common in China, Italy, and the United States. Also, Чао is the last name as well as the forename.
| VARIANT | COUNTRY |
|---|---|
| Chao | Macao, Taiwan, Mozambique, United States, China |
| Ciao | Italy, Malaysia, Indonesia, United States, China |
| Чао | Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Ukraine |
| Tchao | Canada, France, United States, China, Cameroon |
Чао is also a name for the fictitious and mythical characters: Ciao , the mascot from 1990 World Cup; Chao Lingshen , the fictional character from Negima! Magister Negi Magi and Chao Chocola , the Sonic the Hedgehog character.