Jǐ is the Mandarin pinyin romanization of the Chinese surname written 纪 in simplified Chinese and 紀 in traditional Chinese. It is romanized as Chi in Wade–Giles, and Kei in Cantonese. Ji is the 136th most common surname in China, with a population of 1.1 million. It is listed 122nd in the Song dynasty classic text Hundred Family Surnames.
As of 2008, Ji 纪 is the 136th most common surname in China, shared by 1.1 million people, or 0.088% of the Chinese population. It is concentrated in Beijing, Anhui, Jiangsu, and Shandong, which together account for 48% of the total.
Ji 纪 originated from the ancient state of Ji in present-day Shouguang, Shandong province. In 690 BC, Ji was conquered and annexed by Duke Xiang of the neighbouring state of Qi, and the people of Ji adopted the name of their former state as their surname. The Ji 纪 surname is a branch of Jiang 姜, the surname of ruling clan of the Ji state.
Ji Xin (紀信; died 204 BC), general serving under Liu Bang during the Chu–Han contentionJi Ling (紀靈; 2nd century AD), general serving under Yuan Shu during the Eastern Han dynastyJi Zhan (紀瞻; 253–324), Jin Dynasty generalJi Chuna (紀處訥; died 710), Tang dynasty chancellorJi Junxiang (纪君祥; 13th century), Yuan dynasty playwright, author of The Orphan of ZhaoEmpress Ji (纪皇后; died 1475), Ming dynasty empress, mother of the Hongzhi EmperorJi Yun (紀昀; 1724–1805), Qing dynasty scholar and government minister, chief editor of the Siku QuanshuJi Dengkui (纪登奎; 1923–1988), Vice Premier of China, key figure of the Cultural RevolutionChi Cheng (紀政; born 1944), Olympian track and field athlete of TaiwanJi Baocheng (纪宝成; born 1944), former President of Renmin University of ChinaChi Ta-wei (紀大偉; born 1972), Taiwanese writerSamingad or Ji Xiaojun (紀曉君; born 1977), aboriginal Taiwanese singerChi Shu-ju (紀淑如; born 1982), Taiwanese taekwondo practitioner and Olympic medalistJi Minjia (纪敏佳; born 1982), singerJi Yanyan (纪妍妍; born 1985), member of Chinese women's basketball team at the 2012 Summer OlympicsPerenna Kei or Ji Kaiting (纪凯婷; born 1989 or 1990), youngest billionaire in the world according to ForbesJi Michael (born 1998), world-class comedian
