| Lee | |
|---|---|
| Family name | |
| Meaning | Varies by Hanja: 李: plum 異: different 伊: third person pronoun |
| Region of origin | Korean peninsula |
| Language(s) of origin | Korean |
| Related names | Li |
| Lee | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | 이 (리 applies only to 李) |
| Hanja | 李; 異 and 伊 are rare |
| Revised Romanization | I (Ri) |
| McCune–Reischauer | Yi (Ri) Note: North Korean usage is in parentheses |
Lee is the common English spelling of 이 (Korean pronunciation: [iː]), a common Korean family name. The proper pronunciation in South Korea is like the English letter "E", although in North Korea the name is still written as "리" and pronounced "Lee". Many times South Koreans will knowingly introduce themselves as "Lee" to foreigners even though this is not the proper pronunciation of their name. The more traditional spelling and therefore pronunciation of the name is the North Korean "리" (Lee). 이 derived from the Chinese hanzi character Lee (李) (the Korean Hanja character is written the same way) 李 is the second most common family name (after Kim) in Korea, with 이 derived from 異 or 伊 being relatively rare. The name is sometimes also transliterated as Yi (more commonly used in modern times when transliterating a given, rather than family, name) or Ri (North Korean), and was previously transliterated as Rhie or Rhee (Syngman Rhee is an example) for the pronunciation of r and l in the Korean language are pronounced as an "r" at the start of a word. The pronunciation of 李 as 리 is still common in North Korea.
The hanja 李 literally means "plum". This character, as used in Korea, China and Vietnam, is the most common surname in the world.
Contents |
이 is the surname of approximately 15% of ethnic Koreans. This translates to 6,796,227 people in South Korea (2000), and millions more in North Korea (including 리) and among Korean emigrants and their descendants worldwide.
As with all Korean family names, the holders of the Lee surname are divided into different patrilineal clans, or lineages, known in Korean as bon-gwan, based on their ancestral seat. Most such clans trace their lineage back to a specific founder. This system was at its height under the yangban aristocracy of the Joseon Dynasty, but it remains in use today. There are approximately 241 such clans claimed by South Koreans. Most people with surname Lee in Korea belong to either the Jeonju or Gyeongju clans.
The founder of this clan was Yi Dongsu, an official of the Goryeo period. This was a prominent yangban clan during the Joseon Dynasty, producing figures including the admiral Yi Sun-sin and the philosopher Yi I. The clan seat, Deoksu, corresponds to Deoksu-hyeon, an old division of what is now Kaep'ung-gun in Kaesong city, North Korea.
The founder of this clan is Yi Seok. Yi Hwang, a notable scholar and politician in Joseon Dynasty, belongs to this clan.
The founder of Yongin clan was Kil-kwon who helped to found Goryeo.
The founder of this clan was Alpyeong, one of the original village headmen of Silla, who chose Bak Hyeokgeose as the first king. According to the Samguk Sagi, the Yi name was officially bestowed on the family by King Yuri around 9 CE. Prominent members include the Joseon-era scholar Yi Deok-hyung (이덕형), who was "Han-eum" (한음) of "Oh-seong and Han-eum" (오성과 한음) fame.
In present days, Lee Byung-chull, the founder of Samsung Group and the former Samsung CEO, Lee Kun-hee, and Lee Myung-bak, current president of South Korea are notable figures from the Gyeongju Lee clan.[1] It is the most populous Lee clan after the Jeonju Lee clan.
Prominent members of this clan include the Joseon Dynasty philosopher Yi Ik.
This is the most populous Lee clan. The founder of this clan was Yi Han, a native of Baekje who later married a Silla princess and became a high official of Silla. His 22nd-generation descendant, Taejo of Joseon, went on to found the Joseon Dynasty. The Jeonju Yi family ruled Joseon for 518 years between 1392 and 1910.
The current pretender to the Korean throne is Her Imperial Highness, Empress Haewon of Joseon. Members of the different branches of Jeonju Yi family dominated Korean history right up until the formation of the current Republic of Korea. There are many families that claim membership in the Jeonju Yi clan.
The founder of this clan was Jeong Dojeon, who was the first Prime Minister of Joseon and had close relations to King Yi Seonggye. He bestowed upon him the right to start his clan, a right only a yangban could ask, thus Jeong Dojeon created a new yangban clan. The clan's ancestral seat is Danyang.
The founder of this clan was Yi Man-young, an internal minister in Korea following the fall of the Goryeo Dynasty. He died of strangulation near an isolated mountain.
The founder of this clan was Yi Gyunwoong (Korean: 이견웅), who helped found the Goryeo Dynasty.
The founder of this clan was Sun Yu (Korean: 순유, Hanja: 純由), a prominent official of late Silla. His 12th-generation descendant Jang Gyeong (Korean: 장경, Hanja: 長庚) was also a prominent official of the Goryeo Dynasty. Eight generations of Jang Kyung's descendants yielded 75 civil examination qualifiers. As of a 2000 census conducted by the ROK, 186,188 Koreans of the Seongsan Yi clan live in South Korea.
The founder of the Hongju Lee clan was Yi Yu-seong, a member of the King's inner circle during the late Goryeo Dynasty. The clan's ancestral seat was bestowed when his 9th generation descendant, Yi Gi-jong, was titled. Hongyang/Hongju is located in present day Hongseong, South Chungcheong Province. Especially during the late Goryeo and early Josoen Dynasties, the Hongju Lee clan produced many outstanding and influential people, including Yi Yeon-su, Yi Seong, Yi Seo, and Yi Jong-jang.
Given the prevalence of Lee as a family name among ethnic Koreans, a great number of notable people have this surname.