Yì () is a

Chinese surname Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicized ethnic groups in China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, and among overseas Chinese communities around the world such as Singapore and Malaysia. Written Chinese names begin with surnames, unlike the ...

, in Cantonese it is transliterated as Yick or Yik, the Chinese commercial code (CCC) of which is 2496. It is also rarely spelled as Yih or Ie, depending on where it is originated. Yi (이), is a phonetic pronunciation of a Korean surname that has a different origin than the Chinese surname (易). The origin of Yi (Korean surname) can be traced back to the writings of

Sima Qian Sima Qian (; ; ) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206AD220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his ''Records of the Grand Historian'', a general history of China covering more than two thousand years b ...

and Three Kingdoms of Korea and uses the Chinese characters 李, 異, or 伊. They are often romanized as Li (surname) or

Lee (Korean surname) Lee, Revised Romanization of Korean, I, or Yi () is the List of South Korean surnames by prevalence, second-most-common surname in Korea, behind Kim (Korean surname), Kim (김). Historically, 李 was officially written as Ni () in Korea. The ...

, or Itō (surname) in Japanese. Yi is also different Chinese family names, written (), () and ().

Place of origin

According to the book of Hundred Family Surnames ( 百家姓), Yi family originated from

Jiang Jiang may refer to: * ''Jiang'' (rank), rank held by general officers in the military of China *Jiang (surname), several Chinese surnames **Jiang Zemin (1926–2022), as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party *Jiang River, an ancient riv ...

( 姜) family who moved to Yi county (present day Chang county in Hebei province). The other place of origin is Yi county (present day Yi county in Hebei province). During the period of Qin dynasty, Yi family were mainly situated at

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

and Henan. At the end of Eastern Han dynasty until the beginning of Southern and Northern Dynasties period, they started to scatter across the central plains, and moving toward present day Hunan province. Nowadays, Yi surname ranks 106th among other family surnames in mainland China with members up to more than 1.7 million, making 0.12% of total Chinese population. A 2013 study found that it was the 114th most-common name, shared by 1.75 million people, or 0.130% of the population, with the largest province being Hunan.中国四百大姓 Front Cover,

Yuan Yida Yuan Yida () is a researcher from the Institute of Genetic and Developmental Biology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is a leading researcherPeople's Daily OnlineChina has 4100 meaningful surnames January 13, 2006. on Chinese surnames in m ...

, 邱家儒, Beijing Book Co. Inc., 1 January 2013

Notable people (易)

Yi Yuanji Yi Yuanji (; Wade-Giles: I Yüan-chi) (c. 1000, Changsha, Hunan – c. 1064) was a Northern Song Dynasty painter, famous for his realistic paintings of animals. According to Robert van Gulik, Yi Yuanji's paintings of gibbons were particularly ce ...

(易元吉, c.a. 1000–1064), styled Qingzhi (庆之), Northern Song Dynasty painter, famous for his realistic paintings of animals. *

Yi Zhongtian Yi Zhongtian (born 8 February 1947) is a Chinese writer and historian. He is also a professor and Ph.D. supervisor at the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Xiamen University's School of Humanities. Life and career Yi's grandfather ...

(易中天, born 1947), Chinese historian, author, scholar and TV personality. * Yi Jianlian (易建联, born 1987), Chinese professional basketball player for the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the CBA. *

Jackson Yee Jackson Yee (, Chinese name Yi Yangqianxi, born on 28 November 2000) is a Chinese actor, dancer and singer. After a talent manager discovered him at a children's talent competition, where he performed a hip-hop dance, and signed to TF Entertainm ...

(易烊千璽, born 2000), Chinese singer, dancer and actor.

Fictional people

*Master Yi, the Wuji Bladesman (), a playable champion character in the multiplayer online battle arena video game '' League of Legends'' *Yi, a pink-jacket Wild Kratts Girl, from the TV show ''

Wild Kratts ''Wild Kratts'' is a live action/Flash-animated educational children's television series created by the Kratt brothers, Chris and Martin. The Kratt Brothers Company and 9 Story Media Group produce the show, which is presented by PBS Kids in the ...

References

{{Reflist Chinese-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames