Lí () is a Chinese surname. It mostly appears in Central and South China (including Hong Kong and Macao) where it is transliterated as Lai or Lei (from Cantonese).
It is around the 81st most common in Mainland China.
In Vietnam, it is spelled Lê and is one of the four most common surnames among ethnic Vietnamese people.
It is listed 262nd in the Song dynasty classic Hundred Family Surnames.
Some Hlai people in Hainan Island also use Lí as a surname.
Origin
Around the Yangtze River, any Jiuli (九黎) people got surname Li (黎) as a tribal name. In Ancient China, descendants of Shaohao were surnamed Li on Licheng County (黎城). During the Xia dynasty, descendants of Emperor Yao were surnamed Li (黎) in Licheng County (黎城).
In Vietnam, some Chinese Li (黎) families changed their surname to Vietnamese Hà or Hồ (胡).
Notable people
Leon Lai (黎明), actor and Cantopop singer
Li Yuanhong, 4th president of the Republic of China
Jimmy Lai, founder of Apple Daily
Gigi Lai, singer and TVB actress
Humberto Lay (黎孙), Peruvian pastor and politician
Lai Lok-yi, Hong Kong singer
Lai Man-Wai, film director
Newton Lai (黎漢持), Hong Kong actor
Wayne Lai, Hong Kong actor
Li Zhaohuan (黎照寰; 1898–1969) President of Shanghai Jiao Tong University
The eight Li brothers of Xiangtan, including: Li Jinxi (1890–1978) Li Jinhui (1891–1967) Chin Yang Lee (Li Jinyang; 1915–2018), author of novel The Flower Drum Song Lai Tat-wing a.k.a. Lai Tat Tat Wing, Hong Kong comics artist