Yi
A masculine Chinese name meaning upright and righteousness.
Name Census estimates that about 454 living Americans carry the first name Yi. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 62.7% of registrations being male. The average person named Yi today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yi births was 2018 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yi. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Yi with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
454
~ 1 in 754,966 Americans
Peak year
2018
25 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,207
Tracked since 1980
Census
Yi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 11,136 people with the first name Yi, which placed it at #2,306 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#2,306
National first-name rank
People counted
11K
11,136 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
96.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yi is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.6%. The next largest groups are White (2.0%) and Black (0.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Yi described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Yi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander96.6% · 10,761
- White2.0% · 226
- Black or African American0.6% · 70
- Hispanic or Latino0.4% · 42
- Two or more races0.3% · 37
Gender
Gender distribution for Yi
Yi is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 461 total registrations, 289 (62.7%) were male and 172 (37.3%) were female.
Yi as a male name
- Ranked #7,207 in 2024
- 12 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2018 (25 births)
Yi as a female name
- Ranked #12,078 in 2024
- 8 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2004 (11 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Yi on both sides of the split. Of the 11,132 people counted with this name, 5,054 were male (45.4%) and 6,078 were female (54.6%).
Popularity
Yi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yi from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 165 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Yi remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yi by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Yi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Yi
Yi is a given name of Chinese origin that dates back to ancient times. It is a monosyllabic name that has been used in various forms and spellings throughout Chinese history.
The name Yi is derived from the Chinese character "义" (yì), which means "justice," "righteousness," or "moral integrity." This character has a long and rich history in Chinese culture, appearing in numerous philosophical and religious texts.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Yi can be found in the Classic of Poetry (Shijing), one of the oldest existing collections of Chinese poetry dating back to the 11th century BCE. In this ancient text, Yi is mentioned as the name of a virtuous and upright individual.
Throughout Chinese history, the name Yi has been associated with various prominent figures. One notable example is Yi Yin (circa 1600 BCE), a renowned minister and counselor during the Shang Dynasty. He is revered for his wisdom, integrity, and contributions to the development of Chinese statecraft.
Another famous bearer of the name Yi is Yi Zhuang (circa 659-619 BCE), a philosopher and political thinker during the Spring and Autumn period. He is known for his influential teachings on moral cultivation and governance.
During the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE), Yi Xing (683-727 CE) was a renowned Buddhist monk, mathematician, and astronomer. He made significant contributions to the fields of astronomy, mathematics, and calendar reform.
In the realm of literature, Yi Baek (1366-1398) was a prominent Korean scholar and writer during the Goryeo Dynasty. He is best known for his collection of essays and poems, which reflect on the human condition and the pursuit of virtue.
Lastly, Yi Sun-shin (1545-1598) was a renowned Korean naval commander and military strategist during the Joseon Dynasty. He is celebrated for his innovative military tactics and his decisive victories against Japanese invaders during the Imjin War.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Yi, highlighting its cultural significance and association with virtues such as righteousness, wisdom, and moral integrity.
People
Yi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yi as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Y
Other first names starting with Y with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Yi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 454 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yi going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 754,966 US residents.
Is Yi a common name?
We classify Yi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 461 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yi most popular?
The single biggest year for Yi was 2018, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yi is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Yi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 11,136 people with the name Yi, or 3.69 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,306 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Yi in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Yi?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Yi on both sides of the split. Of the 11,132 people counted with this name, 5,054 were male (45.4%) and 6,078 were female (54.6%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Yi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yi is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.6%. The next largest groups are White (2.0%) and Black (0.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Yi most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Yi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.6% (10,761 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Yi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yi a male name?
Yes, 62.7% of people registered as Yi in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Yi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yi in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Yi can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Yi?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.