Ly
A surname found especially in East and Southeast Asia, often representing a short romanization of a Chinese, Vietnamese, or Khmer family name.
The #1,176 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 10,329 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Ly is a short romanized surname that can reflect more than one original name, depending on the family’s language and country of origin. In Chinese contexts it is often a spelling used for surnames pronounced like Li in modern Mandarin or related dialect forms; in Vietnamese it commonly represents Lý; and in Khmer it can reflect a name written with a similar sound in Roman letters. Because the spelling is shared by several traditions, the surname’s literal meaning is not single or universal.
History
As a surname in English-language records, Ly usually appears through immigration and later standardization of non-Latin writing systems. In Vietnamese American families it is especially familiar as a rendering of Lý, while in Chinese and Cambodian contexts it may reflect different original characters or spellings chosen by the family. The short form is also common in modern documents because some people simplify longer traditional transliterations to match everyday use.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because Ly can come from several different naming traditions, two people with the same spelling may have entirely different surname histories.