Around the globe, 老 (Lao 
, 老 , Lawlaw 
) is quite a rare epicene forename. The forename 老 is characteristic of Macao, where it is a common epicene name, Hong Kong, where it is quite a rare epicene name, and Senegal, where it is a rare male name. Measured by absolute frequency, it most frequently occurs in China, Macao, and Indonesia. More frequently, 老 is the last name as well as the forename.
老 is also a name for the fictitious and mythical characters: Lao Chong Jinglue Xianggong , the Water Margin character and Lao Ma , the Xena: Warrior Princess character.