Lí (surname 黎)

For other Chinese surnames also romanized as "Li", see Li (surname 李).

Lí (Chinese: 黎) is a Chinese surname.^[1][2] It mostly appears in Central and South China (including Hong Kong and Macao) where it is transliterated as Lai or Lei (from Cantonese).

Li (黎)

Li in Chinese character
Language(s)	Chinese
Origin
Language(s)	Old Chinese
Other names
Variant form(s)	Lai, Lei
Derivative(s)	Lê (Vietnamese)

It is around the 81st most common in Mainland China.

In Vietnam, it is spelled Lê and is one of the four most common surnames among ethnic Vietnamese people.

It is listed 262nd in the Song dynasty classic Hundred Family Surnames.^[3]

Some Hlai people in Hainan Island also use Lí as a surname.^[4]

Origin

Around the Yangtze River, any Jiuli (九黎) people got surname Li (黎) as a tribal name. In Ancient China, descendants of Shaohao were surnamed Li on Licheng County (黎城). During the Xia dynasty, descendants of Emperor Yao were surnamed Li (黎) in Licheng County (黎城).^{[citation needed]}

In Vietnam, some Chinese Li (黎) families changed their surname to Vietnamese Hà or Hồ (胡).^{[citation needed]}

Notable people

The eight Li brothers

• Leon Lai (黎明), actor and Cantopop singer
• Li Yuanhong, 4th president of the Republic of China
• Jimmy Lai, founder of Apple Daily
• Gigi Lai, singer and TVB actress
• Humberto Lay (黎孙), Peruvian pastor and politician
• Lai Lok-yi, Hong Kong singer
• Lai Man-Wai, film director
• Newton Lai (黎漢持), Hong Kong actor
• Wayne Lai, Hong Kong actor
• Li Zhaohuan (黎照寰; 1898–1969) President of Shanghai Jiao Tong University
• The eight Li brothers of Xiangtan, including:
  • Li Jinxi (1890–1978)
  • Li Jinhui (1891–1967)
  • Chin Yang Lee (Li Jinyang; 1915–2018), author of novel The Flower Drum Song
• Li Minghui (1909–2003), singer and actress, daughter of Li Jinhui
• Lai Tat-wing a.k.a. Lai Tat Tat Wing, Hong Kong comics artist

See also

• Lê, Vietnamese version