Lee is a common

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

-speaking countries. In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

during the year 2000 census, "Lee" was the 22nd-most-common surname.

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

.
Genealogy Data: Frequently Occurring Surnames from Census 2000
". 27 Sept 2011. Accessed 29 Mar 2012.

Origins

China

Lee is a common romanization of the Chinese surname 李, alternatively romanized as ''Li.'' in

mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

England

There are several distinct origins of the Lee surname. The most common is derived from

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''lēah'', meaning a

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artifi ...

or forest clearing. This developed variously into the surnames Lee,

Lea Lea or LEA may refer to: Places Australia * Lea River, Tasmania, Australia * Lake Lea, Tasmania, from which the Lea River flows * RAAF Base Learmonth, IATA airport code "LEA" England * Lea, Cheshire, a civil parish * Lea, Derbyshire, a set ...

, and

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...

Ireland

The name in Ireland has several diverse origins, resulting in widely dispersed clusters of the name in South Western, Western (Galway) and North Eastern Counties.Michael C. O'Laughlin The Book of Irish Families: Great & Small – 2002 reprinted from Michael C. O'Laughlin Families of County Galway, Ireland – 1998 – Page 125 "

, Maclee, Macalea, Melee, O'lee, Families of the surname of "Lee" in Ireland may stem from any one of several origins. Lee is an old Irish family name, stemming from families of O'Lee and MacLee. Lee is also a name of English origins ..." One recognized root was the

anglicization Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by Culture of England, English culture or Culture of the United Kingdom, British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English ...

of the

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

surname "Ó Laoidigh" which resulted in a number of variants, such as Lee, Lea, and Maclee.Irish Genealogical Foundation: Book of Irish Families
. 1997. Accessed 4 June 2013. Other Lees have English roots and still others may have derived from the Norman "Du Lea". The 1901 Irish census1901 Census of Ireland: Surname Lee in All Counties
. 27 Sept 1901. Accessed 29 May 2013. list 4912 entries primarily in the counties of Galway, Dublin, Cork, Antrim, Limerick and Down.

Norway

Originating from Norway as "Lie", this surname was altered when it arrived in the Americas in the late 1800s to fit the English language's pronunciation.

People with the surname

* List of people with the surname Lee

Fictional characters

* Gregg Lee, a fictional character in the video game ''

Night in the Woods ''Night in the Woods'' is a 2017 single-player adventure video game. It was developed by Infinite Fall, a studio founded by game designer Alec Holowka and animator/artist Scott Benson, and Secret Lab, an Australian studio, and published by Fin ...

'' * Meilin Lee, the main character from the 2022 Disney-Pixar film ''

Turning Red ''Turning Red'' is a 2022 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It was directed by Domee Shi in her feature directorial debut, written by Shi ...

'' *

Rock Lee is a fictional character in the anime and manga series ''Naruto'' created by Masashi Kishimoto. At first Masashi designed Lee to symbolize human strength. In the anime and manga, Lee is a ninja affiliated with the village of Konohagakure, and is ...

, one of the characters from the ''Naruto'' anime and manga series * The Lee Brothers, the main characters from ''

Double Dragon is a beat 'em up video game series initially developed by Technōs Japan and released as an arcade game in 1987. The series features twin martial artists, Billy and Jimmy Lee, as they fight against various adversaries and rivals. The original ...

Places

A number of places in the US have been named for the various famous people named Lee:

United States

Lee, Massachusetts Lee is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, metropolitan statistical area. The population was 5,788 at the 2020 census. Lee, which includes the villages of South and East Lee, is p ...

Lee, New Hampshire Lee is a town in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,520 at the 2020 census. The town is a rural farm and bedroom community, being close to the University of New Hampshire. History Lee was first settled by Eur ...

Lee's Summit, Missouri Lee's Summit is a city located within the counties of Jackson (primarily) and Cass in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. As of the 2020 census its population was 101,108, making it the sixth-largest city in both ...

* various Fort Lees * various Leesburgs * various Leesvilles *

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexingto ...

* Lee Township, Michigan * Lee Township, Minnesota *

Lee County, Florida Lee County is located in Southwest Florida on the Gulf Coast. As of the 2020 census, the population was 760,822. The county seat is Fort Myers (with a population of 86,395 as of the 2020 census), and the largest city is Cape Coral with an esti ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee (English Surname) English-language surnames Surnames of English origin Surnames of Irish origin