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ELI5: How is Lee a surname for both Caucasians and Asians?
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Its a pure coincidence.
Both races used a similar pronunciation for the last name. If you were to say the Asian Lee in its correct pronunciation then it would sound similar to Lee but you can tell that it is not Lee.
Yup.
Lee
Li/Lee
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press
Technically, the Asian surname is "Li", we often just anglicize it as "Lee".
Well I be dammned
Actually, it's written "李".
Just saying.
That's actually just the most common Li.
黎, 栗, 利 and 厉 are also pronounced Li and are surnames, they are just (much) less common.