Ngo
A Vietnamese surname, common in East and Southeast Asian diaspora communities, whose exact origin is older and less certain in older European surname books.
The #1,062 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 9,355 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Ngo is a Vietnamese surname written with the Latin alphabet; in Vietnamese it is usually associated with the Sino-Vietnamese name Ngô. Older European surname references in the excerpts do not provide a reliable derivation for this specific surname, so the safest explanation is that it is an established East Asian family name rather than an English or French occupational surname. In historical Vietnamese usage, Ngô has been linked to Chinese-origin naming traditions, but the precise pathway behind any one family line can vary.
History
As a surname, Ngo is best known today through Vietnamese communities, especially in Vietnam and the global diaspora. In English-language records it often appears without diacritics as Ngo, even when the Vietnamese form is Ngô. The 19th-century excerpts supplied here do not give a usable etymology for this surname and appear to be incidental OCR noise rather than true dictionary entries.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because Vietnamese diacritics are often dropped in overseas records, the same family name may appear as Ngo in passports, census data, and newspapers even when the Vietnamese spelling is Ngô.
From the historical record
“K™" ihn N™2^!'^., JO Edw. I. R. ngo Nnnne»n, 1379: P. T. Yotki. 15^ Rc^nNooHn: Re^. Uni*. Oif. I74>. Bnri«l — Hannah Nonaon ; Sl. Jttsj Aldennary (London), p 335.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances