Lei is the

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...

romanization Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, a ...

of the

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 ...

(''Léi''). It is the 69th name on the '' Hundred Family Surnames'' poem.K. S. Tom.

989 Year 989 ( CMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Emperor Basil II uses his contingent of 6,000 Varangians to help him defeat ...

(1989). Echoes from Old China: Life, Legends and Lore of the Middle Kingdom. University of Hawaii Press. . Additionally, the very common Chinese surname Li () is pronounced Lei in Standard

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...

, and is sometimes romanized as "Lei", particularly among the Macanese.

Romanization

The surname is also romanized as

Lui ''Lui'' (; ) is a French adult-entertainment magazine created in November 1963 by Daniel Filipacchi, a fashion photographer turned publisher, Jacques Lanzmann, a jack of all trades turned novelist, and Frank Ténot, a press agent, pataphys ...

or Looi in Hokkien and Teochew; Lui, Looi, or Loi in

; Louie or Louis in Taishanese; Lūi in Gan. Sino-Xenic pronunciations include Lôi in Vietnamese; Roe () or Noe () in Korean; and Rai in Japanese.

Distribution

雷 is the 79th-most-common surname in

mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the China, People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming Island, Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territorie ...

but not included among the 100 most common surnames on

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 ...

. In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, Lei is an uncommon surname, ranking 14,849th during the 1990 census and 6,583rd during the year 2000 census. US Census Bureau. Op. cit.

Public Broadcasting Service The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educa ...

.
How Popular Is Your Last Name?
Accessed 6 Apr 2012. In order, "Roe", "Louis", "Noe", "Louie", and "Lui" were all more common than the pinyin name; Loi and Rai were quite uncommon; and Leoi was held by fewer than 100 US residents and left unlisted by the Census Bureau. In

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

, Lei and Lui were among the 200 most common peculiarly Chinese-Canadian surnames found in a 2010 study by Baiju Shah & al, which data-mined the Registered Persons Database of

Canadian health card Healthcare in Canada is delivered through the provincial and territorial systems of publicly funded health care, informally called Medicare. It is guided by the provisions of the ''Canada Health Act'' of 1984, and is universal. The 2002 Royal ...

recipients in the province of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. Rai was found, but among the most common surnames of the Indian-Canadian community.

Origin

雷 is the Chinese character for " thunder". In

Old Chinese Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 12 ...

, its pronunciation has been reconstructed as ''*C.rˤuj''; and in

Middle Chinese Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of Chinese recorded in the '' Qieyun'', a rime dictionary first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expanded editions. The ...

, as ''Lwoj''.Baxter, Wm. H. & Sagart, Laurent. '' '', p. 88. 2011. Accessed 6 April 2012.

Persons with the surname

Lei Chen Lei Chen (; 8 July 1897 – 7 March 1979) was a Chinese politician and dissident who was the early leading figure in the movement to bring fuller democracy to the government of the Republic of China. Born in Zhejiang in 1897, Lei was educated a ...

(1897–1979), Taiwanese politician * Lei Feng (1940–1962), Chinese soldier *

Lei Jiayin Lei Jiayin () is a Chinese actor. He is best known for his role as Chen Junsheng in drama ''The First Half of My Life''. Lei ranked 62nd on '' Forbes'' China Celebrity 100 list in 2019, and 61st in 2020. Early life Lei Jiayin was born in Tie ...

(born 1983), Chinese actor *

Lei Jieqiong Lei Jieqiong (; 12 September 1905 – 9 January 2011), also known as Kit King Lei, was a Chinese sociologist, activist, and politician. Educated in the United States, she taught at Yenching University, China University of Political Science and L ...

(1905–2011), Chinese sociologist, activist, and politician * Lei Jun (born 1969), Chinese billionaire entrepreneur, founder and CEO of

Xiaomi Corporation (; ), commonly known as Xiaomi and registered as Xiaomi Inc., is a Chinese designer and manufacturer of consumer electronics and related software, home appliances, and household items. Behind Samsung, it is the second largest ...

Lei Sheng Lei Sheng (; born 7 March 1984) is a Chinese left-handed foil fencer, six-time team Asian champion, 2012 individual Asian champion, two-time team world champion, three-time Olympian, and 2012 individual Olympic champion. Career Lei took up fen ...

(born 1984), Chinese foil fencer * Lei Tingjie (born 1997), Chinese chess player * Lei Yanjun a.k.a. "Clifford Louie" (1914–1999), Chinese-American pilot and military officer in the Republic of China *

Lei Yixin Lei Yixin (born 1954) is a prominent Chinese sculptor. Yixin designed the ''Stone of Hope'', the statue of Martin Luther King Jr. at the King Memorial near the United States National Mall. Childhood and education Lei was born to a family o ...

(born 1954), Chinese sculptor * Lei Zhengfu (born 1958), Chinese politician

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lei (Surname) Chinese-language surnames Individual Chinese surnames

Romanization

Distribution

Origin

Persons with the surname

See also

References