Lei is the

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...

romanization Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...

of the

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 ...

(''Léi''). It is the 69th name on the ''

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 dyn ...

'' poem.K. S. Tom. 989(1989). Echoes from Old China: Life, Legends and Lore of the Middle Kingdom.

University of Hawaii Press A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

. . Additionally, the very common Chinese surname Li () is pronounced Lei in Standard

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...

, and is sometimes romanized as "Lei", particularly among the Macanese.

Romanization

The surname is also romanized as

Lui ''Lui'' (; ) is a French adult-entertainment magazine created in November 1963 by Daniel Filipacchi, a fashion photographer turned publisher, Jacques Lanzmann, a jack of all trades turned novelist, and Frank Ténot, a press agent, pataphysic ...

Looi Looi is a surname. Origins Like many other similarly-spelled surnames (Lui, Loi, Louie, etc.), it can originate from either of two Chinese surnames which are almost homophonous in Cantonese, though pronounced distinctly in Mandarin: * Léi () ...

in Hokkien and Teochew; Lui, Looi, or Loi in

;

Louie Louie may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Louie'' (American TV series), by comedian Louis C.K. * ''Louie'' (French TV series), animated series about a young rabbit who draws pictures which come to life * "Louie" (song), by Blood Raw * ''L ...

Louis Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

Taishanese Taishanese (), alternatively romanized in Cantonese as Toishanese or Toisanese, in local dialect as Hoisanese or Hoisan-wa, is a dialect of Yue Chinese native to Taishan, Guangdong. Although it is related to Cantonese, Taishanese has little ...

; Lūi in

Gan The word Gan or the initials GAN may refer to: Places *Gan, a component of Hebrew placenames literally meaning "garden" China * Gan River (Jiangxi) * Gan River (Inner Mongolia), * Gan County, in Jiangxi province * Gansu, abbreviated ''Gā ...

Sino-Xenic pronunciations Sino-Xenic or Sinoxenic pronunciations are regular systems for reading Chinese characters in Japan, Korea and Vietnam, originating in medieval times and the source of large-scale borrowings of Chinese words into the Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese ...

include Lôi in

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

;

Roe Roe ( ) or hard roe is the fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses, of fish and certain marine animals such as shrimp, scallop, sea urchins and squid. As a seafood, roe is used both as a cooked in ...

() or Noe () in

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

; and

Rai RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

Distribution

雷 is the 79th-most-common surname in

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

but not included among the 100 most common surnames on

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. 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 ...

, Lei is an uncommon surname, ranking 14,849th during the 1990 census and 6,583rd during the year 2000 census.

US 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 ...

. Op. cit.

Public Broadcasting Service The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educati ...

.
How Popular Is Your Last Name?
Accessed 6 Apr 2012. In order, "Roe", "Louis", "Noe", "Louie", and "Lui" were all more common than the pinyin name; Loi and Rai were quite uncommon; and Leoi was held by fewer than 100 US residents and left unlisted by the

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 ...

. In

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, Lei and Lui were among the 200 most common peculiarly Chinese-Canadian surnames found in a 2010 study by Baiju Shah & al, which data-mined the

Registered Persons Database Registered may refer to: * Registered mail, letters, packets or other postal documents considered valuable and in need of a chain of custody * Registered trademark symbol, symbol ® that provides notice that the preceding is a trademark or service ...

of Canadian health card recipients in the province of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. Rai was found, but among the most common surnames of the

Indian-Canadian Indian Canadians are Canadians who have ancestry from India. The terms ''Indo-Canadian'' or ''East Indian'' are sometimes used to avoid confusion with the Indigenous Peoples of Canada. Categorically, Indian Canadians comprise a subgroup of ...

community.

Origin

雷 is the Chinese character for "

thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

". In

Old Chinese Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese language, Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones ...

, its pronunciation has been reconstructed as ''*C.rˤuj''; and in

Middle Chinese Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of Chinese recorded in the '' Qieyun'', a rime dictionary first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expanded editions. The ...

, as ''Lwoj''.Baxter, Wm. H. & Sagart, Laurent. '' '', p. 88. 2011. Accessed 6 April 2012.

Persons with the surname

Lei Chen Lei Chen (; 8 July 1897 – 7 March 1979) was a Chinese people, Chinese politician and dissident who was the early leading figure in the movement to bring fuller democracy to the government of the Republic of China. Born in Zhejiang in 1897, Le ...

(1897–1979), Taiwanese politician *

Lei Feng Lei Feng (18 December 194015 August 1962) was allegedly a soldier in the People's Liberation Army who was the object of several major Propaganda in China, propaganda campaigns in China. The most well-known of these campaigns in 1963 promoted ...

(1940–1962), Chinese soldier *

Lei Jiayin Lei Jiayin () is a Chinese actor. He is best known for his role as Chen Junsheng in drama ''The First Half of My Life''. Lei ranked 62nd on ''Forbes'' China Celebrity 100 list in 2019, and 61st in 2020. Early life Lei Jiayin was born in Tiedon ...

(born 1983), Chinese actor *

Lei Jieqiong Lei Jieqiong (; 12 September 1905 – 9 January 2011), also known as Kit King Lei, was a Chinese sociologist, activist, and politician. Educated in the United States, she taught at Yenching University, China University of Political Science and L ...

(1905–2011), Chinese sociologist, activist, and politician *

Lei Jun Lei Jun (born 16 December 1969) is a Chinese billionaire entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is known for founding the consumer electronics company Xiaomi. As of October 2022, Lei Jun's net worth was estimated at either US$8.1 billion according ...

(born 1969), Chinese billionaire entrepreneur, founder and CEO of

Xiaomi Corporation (; ), commonly known as Xiaomi and registered as Xiaomi Inc., is a Chinese designer and manufacturer of consumer electronics and related software, home appliances, and household items. Behind Samsung, it is the second largest ma ...

Lei Sheng Lei Sheng (; born 7 March 1984) is a Chinese left-handed foil fencer, six-time team Asian champion, 2012 individual Asian champion, two-time team world champion, three-time Olympian, and 2012 individual Olympic champion. Career Lei took up fen ...

(born 1984), Chinese foil fencer *

Lei Tingjie Lei Tingjie (born 13 March 1997) is a Chinese chess player who holds the title of Grandmaster (chess), Grandmaster (GM). She was the FIDE Women's Grand Swiss Tournament 2021, 2021 Women's Grand Swiss champion, the 2017 Chinese Chess Championshi ...

(born 1997), Chinese chess player * Lei Yanjun a.k.a. "Clifford Louie" (1914–1999), Chinese-American pilot and military officer in the Republic of China *

Lei Yixin Lei Yixin (born 1954) is a prominent Chinese sculptor. Yixin designed the ''Stone of Hope'', the statue of Martin Luther King Jr. at the King Memorial near the United States National Mall. Childhood and education Lei was born to a family o ...

(born 1954), Chinese sculptor * Lei Zhengfu (born 1958), Chinese politician

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lei (Surname) Chinese-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames