Diao Surname

Surname Overview

Surname status and ethnic groups

Diao (刁, diāo) is explicitly listed as a current surname used among Han, Tu, and Dai people. Reported locations include Beijing and parts of Hebei, Shandong, Shanxi, Jiangxi, Guangdong, and Yunnan.

Reference: 刁姓_刁姓的来源和历史_百家姓

Origins

Descent-from-Diao-state account

According to the page's quotation of the Xing Yuan, one account derives Diao from the Ji lineage: a state named Diao (雕) was held by a kinsman of King Wen of Zhou, and the surname was later changed from 雕 to 刁. This is a reported origin theory, not an independently verified reading of the original work.

Reference: 刁姓_刁姓的来源和历史_百家姓

Recorded Manchu surname adoption

According to the page's quotation of the Qingchao Tongzhi section on Manchu Eight Banner surnames, the Manchu Diaoluo clan, also called Duoluo or Zhaolulu, adopted Diao among its Chinese surnames; Diao also appears among the Chinese surnames of the Manchu Duoxing clan. This belongs to a Manchu Chinese-surname adoption system and does not establish a shared lineage with other Diao groups.

Reference: 刁姓_刁姓的来源和历史_百家姓

Historical Records

Historical personal attestation

The source records Diao Xie of the Eastern Jin as a native of Rao'an in Bohai who served as Left Vice Director and Director of the Department of State Affairs and helped formulate court institutions. This attests to Diao as a surname in the Eastern Jin period but does not connect him genealogically to other Diao branches.

Reference: 刁姓_刁姓的来源和历史_百家姓