How common is the surname Yi?

17,934 people in the United States had the surname Yi in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 17,216 Americans. It ranked 2,011th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Yi?

Yi Yuanji, 11th-century painter (1000-1064), followed by Yi Ji.

Where is the surname Yi most common?

Wikidata records people named Yi in Song dynasty, Shu Han and the United States.

Is the surname Yi getting more or less common?

More common. 15,254 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 17,934 in 2010, up 18%.

Is Yi also a first name?

Yes. Yi 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 Yi

A Korean surname, carried by 17,934 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex Y000 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). Yi is more common than 98.8% of them.

Origin

Korean origin

Borrowed from Korean 이 (I) (based on the South Korean spelling), hanja: 李, also spelled 리 (Ri), especially in North Korea.

One of 42 Korean surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 17,934 people named Yi in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 17,216 Americans. That is up 18% since 2000, when the Census counted 15,254.

#2,011

rank among US surnames

17,934

people in 2010

6.1

per 100,000 Americans

+17.6%

change since 2000 (was #2,189)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#2,002	Vogt	18,061	17,095
#2,003	Kimble	18,040	17,114
#2,004	Barraza	18,030	17,124
#2,005	Hay	18,029	17,125
#2,006	Platt	18,022	17,132
#2,007	Fernandes	18,018	17,135
#2,008	Abreu	17,998	17,154

Who is named Yi

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

94% of people named Yi identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, 2.1% as two or more races and 1.8% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Asian and Pacific Islander 94%
Two or more races 2.1%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 1.8%
White (not Hispanic) 1.4%
Black (not Hispanic) 0.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.0%

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

Famous Yis

3 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Yi Yuanji
11th-century painter (1000-1064)
Yi Ji
3rd century Shu Han diplomat, writer and official
Lo Mutuc
American actor, born 1986

Notable Yis come mostly from Song dynasty (1), Shu Han (1) and the United States (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Surnames that sound like Yi

Yi has the Soundex code Y000, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code Y000.

Other Korean surnames

All 42 Korean surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Yi come from?: Borrowed from Korean 이 (I) (based on the South Korean spelling), hanja: 李, also spelled 리 (Ri), especially in North Korea.
How common is the surname Yi?: 17,934 people in the United States had the surname Yi in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 17,216 Americans. It ranked 2,011th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Yi?: In the 2010 Census, 94% of people named Yi identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, and 2.1% as two or more races.
Who is the most famous person named Yi?: Yi Yuanji, 11th-century painter (1000-1064), followed by Yi Ji.
Where is the surname Yi most common?: Wikidata records people named Yi in Song dynasty, Shu Han and the United States.
Is the surname Yi getting more or less common?: More common. 15,254 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 17,934 in 2010, up 18%.
What are other spellings of Yi?: Lee, Li, Ri and Rhee.
Is Yi also a first name?: Yes. Yi 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.