The Yee surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 20,591 people carried this name — #1,740 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 14,300 people counted. That is up 6% from 19,483 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Yee surname

Borrowed from Cantonese 余 (jyu⁴) or Taishanese 余 (yi³) or Hokkien 余 (Î) or Cantonese 爾 /尔 (ji⁵).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Yee» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

21 people named Yee live in Switzerland.

They live in 3 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Zurich 8
Geneva 7
Bern 6

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In the Nordic population registers

24 people named Yee is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 24

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In print

Yee in American newspapers,
1892–1915.

Newspaper page from The Mccook Tribune carrying the name Yee
The Mccook Tribune 1892-11-11
Newspaper page from The Sun carrying the name Yee
The Sun 1915-04-20
Newspaper page from The Citizen carrying the name Yee
The Citizen 1892-11-12

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 147 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Yee in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2010s.

11,797 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Yee. The most, 4,984, date from the 1920s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 2.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 9,430
Victoria 1,227
Queensland 378
South Australia 273
Western Australia 205
Tasmania 152
ACT (Canberra) 43
Northern Territory 38

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Yee.

Who carried it

People named Yee,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Mary Yee 1897–1965 · linguist
  • Myrtle Houng On Yee 1914–1997 · businessperson
  • Harry Yee 1920–2022 · bartender
  • Janet Yee 1934–2019 · social worker

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Yee,
in the records of 6 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States1,433 records

1,433 records of the Yee name in the United States
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 672
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 466
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 115
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 107
  • Sacramento County historic burials 50
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 21
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Richard Yee

    Born 1928; from San Francisco County, California. U.S. Army, armored reconnaissance crewman; killed in action 1951 in North Korea. Buried at San Francisco National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Kok Sam J. Yee

    Born 1906. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Jay Governors Island, New York; laundry worker. U.S. Army Air Forces veteran of World War II; died 1991, buried at Calverton National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Merle Gin Tau Yee

    U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War. Born 1933, died 1959; buried at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 1,433 records for Yee in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Canada370 records

370 records of the Yee name in Canada
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 169
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 114
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 71
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 10
  • Halifax municipal cemeteries 6
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Choo Yee

    Buried in 1980 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 80.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Hum Yee

    Died 1986, aged 76; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Chin Chung Yee

    Died 1920 in Glace Bay, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 370 records for Yee in Canada.

Counts: City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

New Zealand44 records

44 records of the Yee name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 43
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ying Yee

    Died 1976, aged 81; buried at Waimairi Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Yick Wah Yee

    Died 1966, aged 85; buried at Memorial Park Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Alex You Yan Yee

    Died 2000, aged 65; buried at Avonhead Memorial Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 44 records for Yee in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Australia37 records

37 records of the Yee name in Australia
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 14
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 11
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 9
  • Tasmanian Names Index 2
  • Canberra cemetery and marriage records 1
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record James Ah Yee

    Farmer of Eagle Point, Victoria; died 1977.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Charlie Yee

    Arrived in Victoria in 1914 aboard the Eastern, aged 38.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Arthur Len Kuey Yee

    Died 1990; buried at Hall Cemetery, Canberra, ACT.

    ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 37 records for Yee in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Yee name in the United Kingdom St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record George Yee

    Buried in 1816 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 48.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Counts: MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Yee name in the Netherlands Dutch population registers
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Tei Yee

    In the population register of Amsterdam; born 1878 in Hongkong.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Amsterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Yee.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Yee is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Yee volume
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