Lai

Lai Meaning & Origin

About Lai
The surname Lai has multiple origins and meanings depending on the cultural context. In Chinese, Lai is a surname derived from the character 赖 (Lài), which means "rely on" or "depend on." It is a common surname in southern China and is associated with traits like trustworthiness and loyalty. In other cultures, such as in Italy, Lai is a surname of Sardinian origin, derived from the word "lae," meaning "milk." It is also found as a surname in other regions, including India and Malaysia, with different meanings and origins.

📏 Surname Length
💬 Number of Syllables
🔠 Starting Letter
Discover Your Ancestry with 23andMe Logo

Discover Your Ancestry with 23andMe

Explore your ancestry and health insights with exclusive savings.

Save 15%-60% this holiday season

Popularity

Surname Popularity by Ethnicity

The surname Lai is a unique entry in our records. Discover more about its distribution and characteristics:

  • Number of People with the name Lai: 19,157
  • Overall Popularity: 0.01%
  • Ranking: 1,873
  • Frequency per 100k people: 6.49

Below is the ethnic distribution of the surname Lai based on recent US Census records. This is a brief glimpse into the diverse backgrounds of people carrying this surname.

Ranking information for the surname Lai is not currently available.

Pronunciation

📇 Metaphone
L
🗽 NYSIIS
LA
🔊 Soundex
L000
🎵 Syllabic Pronunciation
L AY1
🌐 IPA
/laɪ/
🔊 Double Metaphone
('L', '')
🈯 Cross-Lingual Phonetic
L000

Accessibility & Communication

How to write the name Lai in Braille

Here's how to represent Lai in Braille, each pattern of raised dots corresponds to a letter in the name.

The name Lai in braille

How to sign the name Lai using Sign Language

The image below shows how you can spell Lai using American Sign Language (ASL). In sign language, each hand shape corresponds to a specific a letter of the name.

The name Lai in sign language

Numerology