Yi Family History

Korean: written 이 in Chinese characters 李 meaning ‘plum’. There are actually three Chinese characters for the surname Yi but two of the three are quite rare and one of these is not found outside North Korea. This is the second most common surname in Korea comprising c. 16 percent of the total population. It is found in every part of the country.

Although some sources indicate that there are as many as 546 different Yi clans only c. 100 have been documented. The founder of the oldest clan, the Kyŏngju Yi, was named Yi Al-p’yŏng (李 謁平) and lived in AD 3. He was one of the six original governors of pre-Shilla Korea. Aside from a few other Yi families that originated from the Kyŏngju Yi clan, most of the other 100 or so clans were formed at the end of the Koryŏ or the beginning of the Chosŏn periods.

Some Korean Yi families trace their origins back to China. The founder of the Chosŏn Kingdom or Yi Dynasty, Yi Sŏng-gye (李 成桂), was a member of the Yi clan from Chŏnju. This clan ruled the Korean peninsula from 1392 to 1910. Compare Lee 10 Ri 2 and Yee 6.

Chinese: Mandarin and Cantonese form of the surname 伊 meaning ‘he or she’ in ancient Chinese: (i) from the personal name Yi Yin (伊尹), a famous official who made great contributions to the establishment of the Shang dynasty (1600 –1046 BC). It is said that he lived along a river named Yi Shui (伊水) (located in Henan province) and thus acquired the surname Yi (伊).

Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 易 meaning ‘amiable’ or ‘easy’ in Chinese: (i) possibly from Yi (易) the name of a river (located in Hebei province). (ii) from the first element of the personal name Yi Ya (易牙), also known as Yong Wu, an official in the state of Qi during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC) who was famous for his good cooking.