Fun Facts About the Name Yi
- 485 babies named Yi: U.S. records list 485 babies given the name Yi from 1880 through 2025. Even 182 girls received the name Yi - about 1 girl for every 2 boys.
What Does the Name Yi Mean?
Yi is a romanized Chinese given name rather than a single fixed name, so it has no one established meaning. In Mandarin the syllable can be written with many different characters and tones, including 一 (yī, "one"), 艺 (yì, "art, skill"), 怡 (yí, "joy, harmony"), 毅 (yì, "resolute"), 逸 (yì, "ease, escape"), and 仪 (yí, "ceremony, bearing"). These are separate names that share a romanized spelling; they are not variants of one another.
In Chinese naming practice the written character is the name's identity, so a person called Yi in English may be named 艺, 一, 怡, or another character with the same sound. Without the character and tone, no single translation is reliable. The glosses above are lexical meanings of the characters, not symbolic personality traits.
Yi Name History & Origins
In Standard Mandarin, the spelling Yi follows Hanyu Pinyin, the romanization system developed in the 1950s. Chinese names are traditionally written in characters, and a one-character given name such as Yi is complete in itself; in a two-character name, yi may be one element. Historical records therefore preserve the character, not the pinyin spelling. Older English-language romanizations often wrote the same syllable as I, and tone marks are frequently dropped, so the form Yi can conceal distinctions that are clear in Chinese writing.
Because the name is transmitted by character, its history is the history of the selected character and of Chinese naming conventions rather than the history of a single word. Two written forms that both appear in English as Yi can be historically unrelated names. The romanized form is a modern overlay on that older, character-based practice.
How Popular is the Name Yi?
Yi has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2018. Its best rank was #4,218 in 2018.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #10,084 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2024 | #12,078 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2023 | #9,578 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 2022 | #11,199 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2020 | #13,400 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2019 | #12,410 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2017 | #15,828 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2016 | #12,835 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2015 | #11,803 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2010 | #19,744 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2008 | #17,433 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2007 | #15,428 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2006 | #11,390 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2005 | #12,974 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2004 | #9,873 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2003 | #15,736 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2001 | #10,998 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2000 | #14,996 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1998 | #16,549 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1997 | #13,695 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1996 | #15,845 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1991 | #15,434 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1988 | #10,376 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1983 | #12,049 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1980 | #12,142 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #6,435 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2024 | #7,207 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2023 | #7,271 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2022 | #6,138 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 2021 | #7,561 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2020 | #6,279 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2019 | #6,089 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2018 | #4,218 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 2017 | #6,663 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2016 | #7,585 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2015 | #5,983 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2014 | #7,535 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2013 | #5,909 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2012 | #7,532 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2011 | #9,573 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2010 | #14,191 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2009 | #10,943 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2007 | #8,890 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 2004 | #11,315 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2003 | #8,615 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2002 | #10,631 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1999 | #7,120 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1998 | #11,289 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1997 | #7,265 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1995 | #7,780 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1994 | #10,210 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1992 | #6,121 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1991 | #8,218 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1984 | #7,325 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1983 | #6,224 | 6 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Yi Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have a strong need for freedom - physical, mental and spiritual. You hate bondage in any form. You have love of beauty and philosophy, and you desire achievement. You are willing to take spiritual matters on faith instead of subjecting them to mental analysis. You are inventive, intuitive and extremely methodical. Since your will is so strong, you are hard to convince. You also dislike advice. You love beauty and philosophy, and you desire achievement. You have a strong need for freedom - physical, mental and spiritual.
You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.
✦ Yi's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Yi's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.