Li is thepinyin andWade–Giles romanization (spelledLí,Lǐ, orLì when pinyintonediacritics are used) of several distinctChinese surnames that are written with differentcharacters in Chinese.Li 李 is by far the most common among them, shared by 93 million people inChina,[1] and more than 100 million worldwide.[2] It is thesecond most common Chinese surname behindWang.[1]
Languages using theLatin alphabet do not distinguish between these different Chinese surnames, rendering them all as Li. In the United States, Li is the14th most common surname among people of Asian-Pacific Islander descent and the 519th most common surname overall,[3] up from 2,084th in 1990.[4] Li is the3rd most common Chinese surname in the Canadian province ofOntario, behind Wong and Chan.
List of surnames romanized as Li or Lee
[edit]- Lǐ 李 (3rd tone),the 2nd most common surname inChina, shared by 100 million people worldwide. The character also means "plum". Commonly spelled asLee inTaiwan,Hong Kong,Macau, andoverseas Chinese communities. InVietnam, it is spelled as "Lý".
- Lǐ 理 (3rd tone), means "reason".
- Lí 黎 (2nd tone), the 84th most common surname in China. "Lai" or "Lye" in Cantonese. The character also means "dark".
- Lì 栗 (4th tone), the 249th most common surname in China. "Leut" in Cantonese. The character also means "chestnut".
- Lì 利 (4th tone), the 299th most common surname in China. The character also means "sharp", "take advantage"
- Lì 厲 / 厉 (4th tone). "Lai" in Cantonese. The character also means "strict" or "severe".
- Lì 酈 / 郦 (4th tone). "Lik" in Cantonese. The character is exclusively used in proper names and has no other meaning.
- Lì 莉 (4th tone), a rare surname of theHui people. The character also means "jasmine".
- Lì 力 (4th tone), a rare surname meaning "power".
