| Yi | |
| Pronunciation: | Yì (Pinyin) E̍k, Ī (Pe̍h-ōe-jī) |
| Language: | Chinese |
| Language origin: | Old Chinese |
| Variant: | Yi, Yih (Mandarin) Yick or Yik (Cantonese) Ek, Yee (Hokkien) |
Yi can be a Korean or a Chinese surname. In Cantonese it is transliterated as Yick or Yik, the Chinese commercial code (CCC) of which is 2496. It is also rarely spelled as Yih or Ie, depending on where it is originated.
Yi (이), is a phonetic pronunciation of a Korean surname that has a different origin than the Chinese surname (易). The origin of Yi (Korean surname) can be traced back to the writings of Sima Qian who lived between 145BC to 86 BC, and Three Kingdoms of Korea. Yi (Korean surname) uses the Chinese characters 李. They are often romanized as Rhee (surname), I, or more commonly as Lee (Korean surname).
Yi can also be Chinese, with Chinese family names written as, and .
Korea: The founder of the oldest Yi clan, the Kyŏngju Yi, was named Yi Al-p’yŏng (李 謁平) and lived in 32AD. He was one of the six original governors of pre-Silla Korea. Aside from a few other Yi families that originated from the Kyŏngju Yi clan, most of the other 100 or so clans were formed at the end of the Koryŏ or beginning of the Chosŏn periods. Some Korean Yi families trace their origins back to China. The founder of the Chosŏn Kingdom, or Yi Dynasty, Yi Sŏng-gye (李 成桂), Taejo of Joseon, a descendant of Yi Ui-bang, was a member of the Yi clan from Jeonju. This Jeonju Yi clan ruled the Korean peninsula from 1392 to 1910.
Yi (李) surname in South Korea is the second most common surname after Kim.
China: According to the book of Hundred Family Surnames (百家姓), Yi family originated from Jiang (姜) family who moved to Yi county (present day Chang county in Hebei province). The other place of origin is Yi county (present day Yi county in Hebei province). During the period of Qin dynasty, Yi family were mainly situated at Shandong and Henan. At the end of Eastern Han dynasty until the beginning of Southern and Northern Dynasties period, they started to scatter across the central plains, and moving toward present day Hunan province.
Yi surname ranks 106th among other family surnames in mainland China with members up to more than 1.7 million, making 0.12% of total Chinese population. A 2013 study found that it was the 114th most-common name, shared by 1.75 million people, or 0.130% of the population, with the largest province being Hunan.[1]