Name Awesome

Yi

#6,431 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Suitable, proper

Yi has been given to 486 babies in the U.S. since 1983. In 2025 it ranked #6,431 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2018, with 25 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 63% boys, 37% girls all-time.

Babies named Yi, 2025

1 in 237,000

Yi over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
010203018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Yi over time

In 2025, Yi went to 42% girls and 58% boys.

19802025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Yi: meaning, origin, and history

Suitable, proper

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Yi means

Yi means “suitable, proper”.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 304 boys were recorded with the name Yi between 1983 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 25 in 2018; its best national rank was #4,215 in 2018.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #6,278 in 2020 to #6,431 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #5,981 in 2015 to #6,431 in 2025.

In the United States, 182 girls were recorded with the name Yi between 1980 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 11 in 2004; its best national rank was #9,581 in 2023.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #13,408 in 2020 to #10,081 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #11,801 in 2015 to #10,081 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

How common is Yi?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 237,000
14 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 122,000
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#6,431
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
164,137 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Yi sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 164,137 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Yi. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Yis were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Yi was born before 2015 — so the typical Yi is around 10 today.

Median birth year
2015
About 10 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
42.4% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
80.3%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
304
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 42.4% of all recorded uses (129).

Is Yi rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+803
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
−153
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−450
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.93×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
56.0%
Peak was 2018 (25)
Years since peak
7
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
30.2% average annual change
Best rank ever
#4,215
2018

Where Yi is used — boys

Across 1910–2025, Yi was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — boys, against 1 in 603,069 across all states with data. It was least common in New York (1 in —).

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in —
  2. 2New York1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Yi has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Where Yi is used — girls

Across 1910–2025, Yi was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — girls, against 1 in 891,224 across all states with data. It was least common in New York (1 in —).

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in —
  2. 2New York1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Yi has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Yi around the world

Where Yi ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1999–2025
    #4,275
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    2010–2017
    #602
    in 2017
  • Ireland
    2005–2016
    #601
    in 2016
  • France
    1983–2023
    #6,435
    in 2023
  • Canada
    1991–2024
    #2,134
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1970–2013
    #754
    in 2013

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Central Statistics Office, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Yi by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#6,431
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 153
Best rank ever
#4,215
2018
Peak year
2018
25 that year
First recorded
1983
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
304
Count in 2025
14

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#10,081
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 3,327
Best rank ever
#9,581
2023
Peak year
2004
11 that year
First recorded
1980
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
182
Count in 2025
10

Names similar to Yi

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

YidaYianYidelYichenYifanYishaiYianniYingYigitYiddyYitzhakYiannisKyiYiaYitzyYisraelYichengYihengYizeYimingYimiIfeanyiYienMakyi

Sibling names for Yi

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Yi

Top names of 2018, Yi's peak yearThe 2010s in fullOther names that peaked in 2018Boys' names starting with Y