2000
#1,687
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,483
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.22
Uncommon Last name
Yee
A Chinese surname meaning "willow tree" or referring to a place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 22,931 Americans carry the last name Yee. That puts it at #1,751 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.69 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 14,947 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Yee surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Yee with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
23K
1 in 14,947
Census rank
#1,751
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
20K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 19,997 bearers of the surname Yee in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.69 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1751st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Yee, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 81.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.6%) and White (5.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Yee
The surname Yee originated in China, specifically in the Guangdong province during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). It is derived from the Chinese word "Yi" which means "second" or "one of two." The name was likely given to a second son or a younger sibling in a family.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Yee surname can be found in the "Pu Ding Yuan" genealogical records from the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD), which mention a Yee family from the Xinhui region of Guangdong. This suggests that the name has been in use for over a millennium.
During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD), the Yee surname gained prominence in the coastal regions of Guangdong, particularly in the cities of Taishan and Kaiping. These areas were known for their strong clans and lineage organizations, which helped preserve and document the history of surnames like Yee.
In the early 20th century, many individuals with the Yee surname emigrated from Guangdong to various parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and Southeast Asia. This diaspora helped to spread the name globally.
Notable historical figures with the Yee surname include:
1. Yee Pang-tsu (1559-1631), a renowned Chinese scholar and poet during the late Ming Dynasty.
2. Yee Ching (1775-1835), a Chinese martial artist and founder of the Yee Gee Tuan martial arts system.
3. Yee Fung (1857-1928), a prominent Chinese businessman and philanthropist who established the first Chinese-owned bank in California.
4. Yee Shun-hing (1908-1987), a Hong Kong politician and member of the Legislative Council.
5. Yee Chong-ming (1900-1992), a Chinese historian and author who documented the history of overseas Chinese communities.
The Yee surname has also been associated with various place names throughout history. For example, the village of Yee Pok in Guangdong's Taishan County was named after a Yee family that settled there centuries ago.
While the origins of the Yee surname can be traced back to ancient China, it has since become a part of the cultural heritage of many communities around the world, reflecting the global reach and influence of Chinese migration.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yee
Among Census respondents with the surname Yee, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 81.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.6%) and White (5.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Yee bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Yee surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander81.0% · 16,190
- Two or more races8.6% · 1,711
- White5.7% · 1,136
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 800
- Black or African American0.7% · 149
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Yee
Yee appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#1,740
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,591
+1,108 bearers (+5.7%)
Per 100,000 6.98
Rank movement Down 53 places
2020
#1,751
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,997
-594 bearers (-2.9%)
Per 100,000 6.69
Rank movement Down 11 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,687 | 19,483 | 7.22 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,740 | 20,591 | 6.98 | +1,108 bearers (+5.7%) | Down 53 places |
| 2020 | #1,751 | 19,997 | 6.69 | -594 bearers (-2.9%) | Down 11 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Yee surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,740 | #1,751 | -0.6% |
| Count | 20,591 | 19,997 | -2.9% |
| Per 100K | 6.98 | 6.69 | -4.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Yee bearers went from 20,591 to 19,997 (-2.9% change). The surname moved down 11 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,740 to #1,751.
FAQ
Yee surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Yee?
Name Census estimates that about 22,931 living Americans carry the surname Yee. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 14,947 residents.
How common is Yee?
Yee ranks #1,751 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.69 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 19,997 people with the surname Yee. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (22,931), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.69 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.69 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Yee.
Has Yee become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Yee went from 20,591 recorded bearers to 19,997. That is a decrease of 594 (-2.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,740 to #1,751.
What does the Census say about the background of Yee?
Among Census respondents with the surname Yee, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 81.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.6%) and White (5.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Yee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.0% (16,190 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Yee appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (81.0%), Two or More Races (8.6%), White (5.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Yee (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Yee mean?
A Chinese surname meaning "willow tree" or referring to a place name. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Yee (6.69 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Yee?
See how many people have the surname Yee on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.