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, unlik ...

, 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) Lee, I, or Yi () is the second-most-common surname in Korea, behind Kim (김). Historically, 李 was officially written as Ni () in Korea. The spelling officially changed to I () in 1933 when the initial sound rule () was established. In ...

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 be ...

and

Three Kingdoms of Korea Samhan or the Three Kingdoms of Korea () refers to the three kingdoms of Goguryeo (고구려, 高句麗), Baekje (백제, 百濟), and Silla (신라, 新羅). Goguryeo was later known as Goryeo (고려, 高麗), from which the modern name ''Kor ...

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

Lee (Korean surname) Lee, I, or Yi () is the second-most-common surname in Korea, behind Kim (김). Historically, 李 was officially written as Ni () in Korea. The spelling officially changed to I () in 1933 when the initial sound rule () was established. In ...

, 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 The ''Hundred Family Surnames'' (), commonly known as ''Bai Jia Xing'', also translated as ''Hundreds of Chinese Surnames'', is a classic Chinese text composed of common Chinese surnames. An unknown author compiled the book during the Song dy ...

( 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 The Jiang Rive ...

( 姜) family who moved to Yi county (present day Chang county in

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and ...

province). The other place of origin is Yi county (present day Yi county in Hebei province). During the period of

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), ...

, Yi family were mainly situated at

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in His ...

and

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is a ...

. At the end of

Eastern Han The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

dynasty until the beginning of

Southern and Northern Dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as ...

period, they started to scatter across the central plains, and moving toward present day

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangx ...

province. Nowadays, Yi surname ranks 106th among other family surnames in

mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the China, People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming Island, Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territorie ...

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

.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 ...

(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 Yi Jianlian ( ; born October 27, 1987) is a Chinese professional basketball player for the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He has also played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Milwau ...

(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 ''League of Legends'' (''LoL''), commonly referred to as ''League'', is a 2009 multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by '' Defense of the Ancients'', a custom map for ''Warcraft III'', ...

'' *Yi, a pink-jacket Wild Kratts Girl, from the TV show '' Wild Kratts''

References

{{Reflist Chinese-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames