Find out how popular the last name Li is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Li.

Li, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Li surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Li in America

Li is the 273rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Li surname appeared 111,786 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 38 people would have the surname Li.

We can also compare 2010 data for Li to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Li

The surname LI has its origins in China, where it has been in use since ancient times. It is one of the most common surnames in the country and is believed to have originated from the state of Li, which existed during the Spring and Autumn period (771-476 BC) in present-day Shandong province.

The name LI is thought to have derived from the word "li," which means "plum" or "plum tree" in Chinese. This suggests that the surname may have initially been used to denote someone who lived near or worked with plum trees. Alternatively, it could have been a reference to a particular characteristic or trait associated with the plum tree.

Historical records show that the surname LI appeared in various ancient Chinese texts and manuscripts, including the Shiji, a historical record written by Sima Qian in the 1st century BC. The Shiji mentions several prominent individuals with the surname LI, such as Li Si, a prominent statesman and scholar during the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC).

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname LI can be found in the Book of Documents, an ancient Chinese classic text dating back to around 1000 BC. The text mentions a person named Li Kui, who served as a minister during the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC).

Throughout Chinese history, the surname LI has been associated with numerous notable figures, including:

1. Li Bai (701-762 AD), a renowned poet of the Tang Dynasty widely regarded as one of the greatest poets in Chinese literature.
2. Li Shizhen (1518-1593), a renowned pharmacologist and herbalist who authored the Compendium of Materia Medica, a monumental work on traditional Chinese medicine.
3. Li Qingzhao (1084-1155), a renowned female poet and writer of the Song Dynasty, known for her beautiful and emotional poetry.
4. Li Yuan (566-635), the founder of the Tang Dynasty and the first emperor of the dynasty.
5. Li Guang (born 1943), a prominent Chinese physicist and academic who made significant contributions to the study of superconductivity and condensed matter physics.

The surname LI has also been associated with various place names in China, such as Licheng, a historical city in Shandong province, and Lizhou, an ancient county in present-day Hubei province. These place names may have influenced the spread and usage of the surname LI in different regions of China.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Li

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Li.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Li was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Li has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Li was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Li, please contact us.

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