Hsiao as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Hsiao

What is the meaning of the name Hsiao ?

The baby name Hsiao is a Unisex name , 1 syllables long and is pronounced /ɕjaʊ/ (Mandarin 'Xiao'); English approx.: 'shyaow' or 'shao' (rhymes with 'how' with an initial 'sh')..

Hsiao is Chinese in Origin.

Hsiao is a Mandarin Chinese name rendered in the older Wade–Giles system; in modern Hanyu Pinyin it corresponds to Xiao. It functions both as a surname (蕭/萧, Xiāo) and as a given-name syllable. The form Hsiao appears widely in Taiwanese romanization and in mid-20th-century sinological and diaspora records, while mainland China standardized the spelling Xiao in 1958. The name is unisex when used in given names.

Meaning depends on the written character. Common choices include 小 (xiǎo, “small; young”), 孝 (xiào, “filial piety”), 曉/晓 (xiǎo, “dawn; to know”), and 瀟/潇 (xiāo, “graceful; free-flowing”), while the surname 蕭/萧 historically names an aromatic herb and an ancient fief. Variants include Xiao (Pinyin), Siu (Cantonese), Siao/Siau (Hokkien–Teochew), and Shiao. As a given name, it often appears in compounds such as Hsiao-ling or Hsiao-ting.