Lai () is a common

Chinese surname Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicized ethnic groups in China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, and among overseas Chinese communities around the world such as Singapore and Malaysia. Written Chinese names begin with surnames, unlik ...

that is pronounced similarly in both Mandarin and

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...

dialects. The meaning of the character used in the Lai (賴) surname is "depend on; trust in; rely on". Conversely the words, 无赖 literally translated to "without Lai" which means "undependable, rascal or scoundrel". It is also a Hokkien (Southern Fujian)/ Minnan (Southern Min) surname that is romanized as Lua, Nai or Nua. In

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and other parts of South East Asia there are Lai migrants from southern Fujian Province who are usually surnamed Lua/ Luah, Loa (romanized from Hokkien / Minnan in Southern Min dialect) or Lye (romanized from Hakka dialect) for the Hakka dialect groups. In Indonesia, most of the Indonesians of Chinese descent changed their surname to an Indonesian surname to comply with 'Cabinet Presidium Decision 127 of 1966' laws during President Suharto's despotic rule. However, they usually change to surnames with the same sound or a surname which contains a part of the original surname, hence the Indonesian Lai surname has evolved into Laya, Lais, or Lasuki.

Origins

The Lais' ancestry were from the State of Lai (賴國) at the beginning of the ancient Zhou Dynasty (1046 BC). The area is now around

Huangchuan County Huangchuan County (; local pronunciation: ''Huāngchuǎn Xiàn'') is a county of southeastern Henan province, People's Republic of China. It is located in the center of Xinyang City, straddling the Huang River. The 13th five-year plan of Xinyang ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is a ...

province. Marquis Shu Ying (叔穎) was the 19th son of

King Wen of Zhou King Wen of Zhou (; 1152–1050 BC, the Cultured King) was Count of Zhou during the late Shang dynasty in ancient China. Although frequently confused with his fourth son Duke of Zhou, also known as "Lord Zhou", they are different historical perso ...

(widely considered to be the founder of the ancient Zhou Dynasty). He was conferred the heritable title of Hou (侯) or Marquis to rule over a territory which is approximately in the northeast of the present day Baoxin town (包信鎮) in Xi Xian (息縣) of Henan province. This was the reward from

King Wu of Zhou King Wu of Zhou () was the first king of the Zhou dynasty of ancient China. The chronology of his reign is disputed but is generally thought to have begun around 1046 BC and ended three years later in 1043 BC. King Wu's ancestral name was ...

, his elder brother (the first King of Zhou Dynasty, reign 1046–1043 BC ) for his assistance in defeating

King Zhou of Shang King Zhou (; ) was the pejorative posthumous name given to Di Xin of Shang () or King Shou of Shang (), the last king of the Shang dynasty of ancient China. He is also called Zhou Xin (). In Chinese, his name Zhòu ( 紂) also refers to a horse c ...

and thereby terminating the ancient Shang dynasty. Marquis Shu Ying named his domain the State of Lai (賴國) . Marquis Shu Ying and his succeeding descendants continued to rule the State of Lai well until the year 538 B.C when it was conquered by

King Ling of Chu King Ling of Chu was king of the State of Chu between 540 and 529 BC. His birth name was Xiong Wei () and before ascending the throne he was known as Prince Wei (). Taking the throne Wei was the second son of King Gong of Chu, younger brother ...

(reign 540–529 BC). Many Lais were dispersed to the south during their defeat by the

Chu state Chu, or Ch'u in Wade–Giles romanization, (, Hanyu Pinyin: Chǔ, Old Chinese: ''*s-r̥aʔ'') was a Zhou dynasty vassal state. Their first ruler was King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BCE. Chu was located in the south of the Zhou ...

; some changed their surname to escape persecution. As in the case of those who fled to the neighboring states of Luo (羅) and Fu (傅), some adopted the Luo (or Loh) or Fu (or Poh, Po) surname. (Because of this, the Lai, the Fu and the Luo are closely related). Others migrated north and settled in Da Yan ( Yanling County, Henan). Most of them adopted the surname Lai (賴) to commemorate their old state.

Statistics

The largest Lai (賴) clans are in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

and

. Majority of the overseas Lai (賴) clans are of the Hakka people followed by the Hokkien/Minnan people. According to 2010 data, people with surname Lai (賴) ranked 98th most populous in China. The total Lai (賴) population is approximately 0.18% or around 2.4 million people out of China's population of 1.338 billion in 2010. In Taiwan, the surname Lai (賴) is ranked 19th most populous in 2007.

Notable people surnamed Lai (賴)

Politicians and public officeholders

* Lai In-jaw, President of the Judicial Yuan and Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of China (2007–2010) * Lai Ruoyu, Governor of Shanxi province, China from 1951 to 1952 * Lai Shin-yuan, Minister of

Mainland Affairs Council The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) is a cabinet-level administrative agency under the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China in Taiwan. The MAC is responsible for the planning, development, and implementation of the cross-strait relations ...

of the Republic of China (2008–2012) *

Loa Sek Hie Loa Sek Hie Sia (born in Batavia in 1898 - died in The Hague in 1965) was a colonial Indonesian politician, parliamentarian and the founding ''Voorzitter'' or chairman of the controversial, ethnic-Chinese self-defense force Pao An Tui (1946 - 19 ...

, Indonesian-Chinese colonial politician, parliamentarian and founding Voorzitter or chairman of the Indon ethnic-Chinese self-defense force Pao An Tui (1946–1949) * Rai Hau-min, President of Judicial Yuan of the Republic of China (2010–2016) * William Lai, Vice President of the Republic of China *

Lai Siu Chiu Lai Siu Chiu (); born 1948), is a Singaporeans, Singaporean lawyer and judge. She is the first woman to serve as a Judicial Commissioner in Singapore and to serve on the Supreme Court of Singapore as a judge. Biography Lai was born in Malacca. ...

(賴秀珠) : First woman to serve as a Judicial Commissioner and as a judge on the Supreme Court of Singapore . *

Lai Minhua Lai Minhua, Chinese: (January 1959 - 30 October 2015) was a police officer from Macau, who was Director General of Macau Customs Service. According to official sources, she died by suicide in 2015, however doubt has been cast over this verdict. ...

, Former Commissioner of Macau Customs *

Lai Feng-wei Lai Feng-wei (; born 20 September 1953) is a Taiwanese politician. He is the Magistrate of Penghu County since 25 December 2018 after winning the 2018 municipality election of the Republic of China on 24 November 2018. Political careers 2018 ...

Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

-elect of Penghu County

Military

* Lai Wenguang (賴文光) : prominent military leader of the Taiping Rebellion and Nian Rebellion. Brother-in-law of

Hong Xiuquan Hong Xiuquan (1 January 1814 – 1 June 1864), born Hong Huoxiu and with the courtesy name Renkun, was a Chinese revolutionary who was the leader of the Taiping Rebellion against the Qing dynasty. He established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdo ...

, the leader of the

Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a massive rebellion and civil war that was waged in China between the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the Han, Hakka-led Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It last ...

. * Lai Enjue (赖恩爵): Qing dynasty General and Admiral of the Guangdong Navy. Fought the British in the Battle of Kowloon during the

First Opium War The First Opium War (), also known as the Opium War or the Anglo-Sino War was a series of military engagements fought between Britain and the Qing dynasty of China between 1839 and 1842. The immediate issue was the Chinese enforcement of the ...

of 1839. Appointed as the Admiral (水师提督) of the Guangdong Navy in 1843. *

Lai Chuanzhu Lai Chuanzhu (; 3 April 1910 – 24 December 1965) or Peng Ying () was a general of the People's Liberation Army from Gan County, Jiangxi. Lai joined the Communist Youth League of China in November 1926, the Chinese Communist Party in April 19 ...

(赖传珠): Highly decorated Veteran of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1936–1945) and the Chinese Civil War. He was also the General in charge of Landing Operation on Hainan Island together with General

Deng Hua Deng Hua (; 28 April 1910 – 3 July 1980) was a general in the Chinese People's Liberation Army. He was the Deputy Commander of the People's Volunteer Army. After Marshal Peng Dehuai returned to China for medical treatment, Deng Hua became the A ...

Academics, Literary and Arts

* Loa Ho (賴和) (1894–1943): Taiwanese poet, medical doctor and anti-Japanese Occupation political activist, hailed as the "Father of Modern Taiwanese Literature" * Michael M. C. Lai (賴明詔) : Taiwanese virologist, acknowledged as "father of coronavirus research" * Lai Kui Fang (賴桂芳) : Singaporean artist who worked in France

Entertainment and sports

* Lai Caiqin (born 1966), Chinese badminton player. Gold medalist - World Cup (1990, women doubles), Uber Cup (1990, women team) and Asian Games (1990, women team) * Shevon Jemie Lai, (赖洁敏). Malaysian professional badminton player, Gold medalist : Mixed Team Event - World Junior Championships (2011) and Asia Junior Championships (2009) *

Lai Pei Jing Lai Pei Jing (; born 8 August 1992) is a Malaysian badminton player who played in the doubles events. She started her career in the women's singles event. She briefly partnered Chan Peng Soon in mid-2014 and in August that year, they reached a ...

, (赖沛君) Malaysian professional badminton player, Gold medalist : Mixed team event - Glasgow Commonwealth Games (2014) and Asian Junior Championships (2009) * Lai Runming: Chinese weightlifter, 1984 Olympic Games silver medalist in Men's 56 kg * Stan Lai: Taiwanese playwright and theater director * Lai Pi-hsia (賴碧霞) : Famous musician known for performing Hakka hill songs * Lai Kuan-lin: Republic of China singer and actor, former member of disbanded group WANNA ONE * Lai Meiyun: Chinese singer, S.I.N.G and

Rocket Girls 101 Rocket Girls 101 () was a Chinese idol girl group formed by Tencent through the 2018 reality show Produce 101 China on Tencent Video. The project girl group consists of eleven-members that came from different companies: Meng Meiqi, Wu Xuanyi, Y ...

member * Lai Pin-yu: Taiwanese cosplayer

Other fields

* Pinky Lai (賴平): Chinese car designer and ex-chief designer with Porsche AG * David Jung-Hsin Lai (賴榮信): Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Taiwan * Lai Afong (赖阿芳): considered to be the most significant Chinese photographer of the nineteenth century *

Lai Ning Lai Ning (; 20 October 1973 – 13 March 1988) was a teenage schoolboy in China, who died while fighting a forest fire in Shimian County, Sichuan. Lai Ning's actions were deemed heroic by the Chinese government and Lai has been celebrated as a ...

(赖宁): teenager celebrated as a martyr after his death fighting a wildfire in China

As a European surname

Ubaldo Lay Ubaldo Lay (14 April 1917 - 27 September 1984) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Life and career Born in Rome as Ubaldo Bussa, after graduating in law, Lay was admitted to the Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1939, from which he graduated with ...

(1917-1984): Italian actor (born as Ubaldo Bussa, chose his mother's surname for his stagename), notorious for playing the main character of Tenente Sheridan ("''Lieutenant Sheridan''") in the television series " Giallo Club. Invito al Poliziesco" * Francis Lai (1932–2018): French composer of Sardinian descent (

Ozieri Ozieri ( sc, Otieri) is a town and '' comune'' of approximatively 11,000 inhabitants in the province of Sassari, northern Sardinia ( Italy), in the Logudoro historical region. Its cathedral of the Immacolata is the episcopal see of the Roma ...

), Academy and Golden Globe Award winner *

Valentino Lai Valentino Lai (born 3 February 1984) is a former footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in Italy, Lai represented Sweden internationally. Club career Born in Cagliari, Italy, Lai started his career playing for Swedish club FBK Balkan at yo ...

(born 1984): Italian-Swedish football player from

Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...

References

{{Reflist Chinese-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames Sardinian language Sardinian culture