Chinese surnames

李

lǐ · Li

Order in the Hundred Family Surnames
No. 4
Ancestral seat (junwang)
陇西
Wikidata
Q686223

In other languages

  • German Li
  • English Li
  • Spanish Li
  • French Li
  • Korean 리
  • Russian Ли
  • Vietnamese Lý

Notable historical bearers

Deceased people recorded in Wikidata with this family name, ordered by how many Wikipedias cover them.

  • Laozi579 BCE – 500 BCE

    6th-century BC semi-legendary Chinese philosopher, founder of Taoism

  • Li Bai701 – 762

    Classical Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty (701–762)

  • Kuan Yew Lee1923 – 2015

    1st Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore (1923–2015)

  • Li Keqiang1955 – 2023

    Premier of the People's Republic of China from 2013 to 2023

  • Tsung-Dao Lee1926 – 2024

    Chinese-American physicist (1926–2024)

  • Li Wenliang1985 – 2020

    Chinese ophthalmologist known for warning about the coronavirus in December 2019 (1986-2020)

  • Brandon Lee1965 – 1993

    American actor (1965–1993)

  • Lee Teng-hui1923 – 2020

    7-9th President of Republic of China(Taiwan) (1923-2020)

  • Emperor Taizong of Tang598 – 649

    Chinese emperor of the Tang Dynasty (598-649) (r. 626-649)

  • Li Peng1928 – 2019

    4th Premier of the People's Republic of China (1928–2019)

  • Emperor Gaozu of Tang566 – 635

    Founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty (566-635) (r. 618–626)

  • Li Si280 BCE – 208 BCE

    Chinese politician of the Qin Dynasty

  • Emperor Xuanzong of Tang685 – 762

    7th emperor of the Tang dynasty, reigning from 713 to 756 CE

  • Ba Jin1904 – 2005

    Chinese novelist and anarchist activist (1904-2005)

  • Li Xiannian1909 – 1992

    3rd President of the People's Republic of China (1909-1992)

  • Li Qingzhao1084 – 1155

    Chinese Song Dynasty poet, known as "the most talented woman in all ages"

  • Li Hongzhang1823 – 1901

    Chinese politician, general and diplomat; governor of Zhili of the late Qing dynasty; Trade Minister of the Beiyang Government (1823–1901)

  • Li Yu1610 – 1680

    Chinese writer(1611–1680)

  • Li Ching-Yuen1677 – 1933

    Chinese martial artist and herbalist who claimed extreme longevity

  • Sunjong of the Korean Empire1874 – 1926

    The 2nd emperor of the Korean Empire. (1874–1926)

  • Coco Lee1975 – 2023

    Hong Kong singer (1975–2023)

  • Samak Sundaravej1935 – 2009

    Thai politician (1935-2009)

  • Emperor Gaozong of Tang628 – 683

    Emperor of the Tang Dynasty (628-683) (r. 649-683)

  • Li Dazhao1889 – 1927

    co-founder of the Chinese Communist Party (1889–1927)

Find printed genealogies

The Shanghai Library holds one of the largest collections of Chinese family genealogies (jiapu). Its genealogy platform lists each genealogy's title, ancestral place, founding ancestor, hall name and holding library. Search there by surname and your family's ancestral place.

Search 李 genealogies at the Shanghai Library ↗

Sources: the Hundred Family Surnames (public domain) with ancestral seats from the chinese-poetry dataset (MIT); spellings and people from Wikidata (CC0).