Given name & surname
Yi
“one who brings happiness”
Yi is used as a given name and a surname. One Chinese interpretation is “one who brings happiness.”
Original Mandarin李
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Chinese interpretation is “one who brings happiness.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Chinese.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1980. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Yi through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 486
- 304 boys · 182 girls
- Most popular year
- 2018
- 25 babies
- 2025
- 24
- #6,435 for boys · #10,084 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −5%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 14 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 6,435 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 17.9% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 25 in 2018. It also appeared in 10 birth records for girls in 2025. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 11,132 as a first name in 2020; 19,112 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Yi’s family of names
In English usage, Yi as a surname has a related form in Li. In English usage, Yi as a surname has a related form in Li. In English usage, Yi as a surname has a related form in RI.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Yi has relatives in 5 languages. Lines run from its Chinese roots to each of them.
12 related names in 5 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 31
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Yi
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Yi, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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