How common is the surname Li?

111,786 people in the United States had the surname Li in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 2,762 Americans. It ranked 273rd of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Li?

Li Peng, 4th Premier of the People's Republic of China (1928–2019), followed by Li Xiannian.

Where is the surname Li most common?

Wikidata records people named Li in the People's Republic of China, the United States and Taiwan and 3 other countries.

Is the surname Li getting more or less common?

More common. 57,786 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 111,786 in 2010, up 93%.

Is Li also a first name?

Yes. Li is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Li

A Chinese surname, carried by 111,786 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex L000 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Li is more common than 99.8% of them.

Origin

Chinese origin

Transcription of 李 (Lǐ)

One of 193 Chinese surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 111,786 people named Li in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 2,762 Americans. That is up 93% since 2000, when the Census counted 57,786.

#273

rank among US surnames

111,786

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+93.4%

change since 2000 (was #519)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#264	Oliver	115,900	2,664
#265	Jensen	115,679	2,669
#266	Harvey	115,662	2,669
#267	Williamson	114,959	2,686
#268	Gilbert	114,940	2,686
#269	Dean	114,030	2,708
#270	Sims	113,374	2,723

Who is named Li

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

97% of people named Li identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, 1.5% as white (not Hispanic).

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

Compare: most common surnames among Asian and Pacific Islander Americans.

Famous Lis

28 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

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, born 1976
Robin Li
Billionaire businessman and entrepreneur, born 1968
Li Zhanshu
10th Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's , born 1950
Li Jun Li
American actress, born 1983
Li Shangfu
13th Minister of National Defense of the People's Republic of China, born 1958
Li Lingjuan
Archer, born 1966
Li Chunfeng
Ancient Chinese mathematician, astronomer and historian, 602–670
Li Yuan-tsu
8th Vice President of the Republic of China, 1923–2017
Andrew Lih
American researcher, consultant and writer (born 1968)
Li Jiaman
Archer, born 1997

Notable Lis come mostly from the People's Republic of China (8), the United States (5) and Taiwan (3).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Lee
Lai
Le
Rhee
Ri
Yi
Rey
Rhie

Surnames that sound like Li

Li has the Soundex code L000, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code L000.

Other Chinese surnames

All 193 Chinese surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Li come from?: Transcription of 李 (Lǐ)
How common is the surname Li?: 111,786 people in the United States had the surname Li in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 2,762 Americans. It ranked 273rd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Li?: In the 2010 Census, 97% of people named Li identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, and 1.5% as white (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Li?: Li Peng, 4th Premier of the People's Republic of China (1928–2019), followed by Li Xiannian.
Where is the surname Li most common?: Wikidata records people named Li in the People's Republic of China, the United States and Taiwan and 3 other countries.
Is the surname Li getting more or less common?: More common. 57,786 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 111,786 in 2010, up 93%.
What are other spellings of Li?: Lee, Lai, Le, Rhee, Ri and Yi.
Is Li also a first name?: Yes. Li is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.