# Li (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/li/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Chinese

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Chinese |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 111,786 |
| US rank (2010) | 273 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 2,762 people |
| Change since 2000 | +93% (57,786 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | Lee, Lai, Le, Rhee, Ri, Yi, Rey, Rhie |

## Etymology

Transcription of 李 (Lǐ)

## Who carries it

Share of people named Li in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 1.5% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 0.2% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 0.6% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 97% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.0% |
| Two or more races | 0.9% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Li in the People's Republic of China, the United States, Taiwan, Tang dynasty, Singapore and Austria.

## People named Li

- Li Peng, 4th Premier of the People's Republic of China (1928–2019)
- Li Xiannian, 3rd President of the People's Republic of China (1909-1992)
- Fei-Fei Li, American computer scientist
- Robin Li, billionaire businessman and entrepreneur
- Li Zhanshu, 10th Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's 
- Li Jun Li, American actress
- Li Shangfu, 13th Minister of National Defense of the People's Republic of China
- Li Lingjuan, archer
- Li Chunfeng, ancient Chinese mathematician, astronomer and historian
- Li Yuan-tsu, 8th Vice President of the Republic of China
- Andrew Lih, American researcher, consultant and writer (born 1968)
- Li Jiaman, archer

and 16 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Liu, Leigh, Liao, Lieu, Lie, Liou, Liew, Lee, Le, Lowe, Lu, Law.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.