Ho surname meaning
A short romanized surname representing several Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean clan or regional surnames, including 何, 賀, 胡, and related forms.
Confidence: Disputed. More than one origin is plausible, or sources disagree. We show the conflict rather than pick a cute answer.
The short story
Ho is a compact romanized surname with several unrelated East Asian histories. In Cantonese, Teochew, or Hokkien records it can represent Chinese characters such as 何, 賀, or 和; Vietnamese Hồ is associated with 胡, and Korean Ho can represent more than one clan tradition. The same Latin spelling therefore does not identify one ancestral meaning or a single Chinese lineage. He, Haw, Hoh, and Hồ may appear in records depending on language and transliteration system. The catalog uses place as the closest broad type for the surname’s regional, state, and clan associations, with disputed confidence because the character behind Ho must be established before an origin claim is safe.
Also seen as: He, Haw, Hoh, Hồ
- Ancestry surname entry for Ho (Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean surname routes)
- Wikipedia “Ho (surname)” and “Hồ (surname)” (East Asian surname forms)
- Names2020_LastNames_RaceHispanic_Top1000.xlsx (2020 Census)
- US Census Bureau, Frequently Occurring Last Names in the 2020 Census by Race and Hispanic Origin: Top 1,000 (Names2020_LastNames_RaceHispanic_Top1000.xlsx), released April 2026