Li
A gender-neutral Chinese name associated with plum blossom or beautiful jade.
Name Census estimates that about 370 living Americans carry the first name Li. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 65.5% of registrations being female. The average person named Li today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Li births was 2001 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Li. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
370
~ 1 in 926,363 Americans
Peak year
2001
23 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2023 SSA rank
#11,679
Tracked since 1952
Gender
Gender distribution for Li
Li is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 383 total registrations, 132 (34.5%) were male and 251 (65.5%) were female.
Li as a male name
- Ranked #11,679 in 2023
- 6 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2001 (15 births)
Li as a female name
- Ranked #16,386 in 2009
- 6 female births in 2009
- Peak: 1983 (14 births)
Popularity
Li: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Li from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 148 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Li by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Li during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Li
Li is a Chinese given name that originated from the ancient Chinese language. The name has a rich history dating back thousands of years to the earliest recorded civilizations in China.
The character 'Li' is composed of two parts - the top part represents a spiritual being or a person, while the bottom part represents a ceremonial vessel used in ancient Chinese rituals. The name is believed to have been derived from the word 'li', which means 'ceremonial ritual' or 'propriety' in Mandarin Chinese. This suggests that the name may have been associated with individuals who were well-versed in traditional Chinese rituals and customs.
The name Li can be found in numerous ancient Chinese texts and historical records, including the Classic of Poetry (Shijing), one of the oldest existing collections of Chinese poetry dating back to the 11th-7th centuries BCE. The name also appears in various religious and philosophical texts, such as the Analects of Confucius, which further underscores its deep-rooted connection with Chinese culture and tradition.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Li was Li Er, a legendary minister and strategist who lived during the Spring and Autumn period (771-476 BCE) of ancient China. He is credited with playing a crucial role in the establishment of the Qi state and is regarded as one of the most influential political figures of his time.
Throughout history, there have been numerous notable individuals with the name Li who have left an indelible mark on various fields. Li Bai (701-762 CE), one of the most celebrated poets of the Tang Dynasty, is renowned for his brilliant literary works that captured the essence of nature and human emotions.
Li Shizhen (1518-1593 CE), a renowned physician and herbalist, made significant contributions to the field of traditional Chinese medicine with his monumental work, the Compendium of Materia Medica. This encyclopedic text, which took nearly three decades to complete, remains an invaluable resource for the study of medicinal plants and their applications.
In the realm of martial arts, Li Guang (1842-1920 CE), also known as Li Cunyi, was a revered master of the Shaolin Kung Fu tradition. He played a pivotal role in preserving and propagating the ancient martial arts techniques of the Shaolin Temple.
Li Hongzhi (born 1951 CE), the founder of the spiritual practice Falun Gong, has had a significant impact on the contemporary spiritual landscape, with millions of followers worldwide embracing his teachings on cultivating mind, body, and spirit.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Li
People
Li + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Li as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Li: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Li?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 370 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Li going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 926,363 US residents.
Is Li a common name?
We classify Li as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 383 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Li most popular?
The single biggest year for Li was 2001, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Li is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Li a female name?
Yes, 65.5% of people registered as Li in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.