NameCensus.

UK girl's name

Yifei

A feminine Chinese given name meaning "beautiful flying phoenix".

For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2017. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.

Yifei is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Yifei popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2017 in this profile. In that release it ranked #4763, with 4 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2017, with 4 births.

This profile covers 10 England and Wales registrations across 3 recorded years from 2013 to 2017. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.

Yifei is at its recorded peak in the England and Wales series.

We estimate that about 10 living people in the UK are called Yifei. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2018 or 2026.

Key insights

  • Yifei ranked #4763 for girls in England and Wales in 2017, with 4 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2017, when 4 girls were registered as Yifei.
  • About 10 living people in the UK are estimated to have Yifei as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#4763

2017

Births in 2017

4

Latest year

Peak year

2017

4 births

Estimated living

10

2026

Meaning

What does Yifei mean?

The name Yifei is of Chinese origin, derived from the Mandarin Chinese words "Yi" and "Fei". The first character "Yi" means "noble" or "righteous", while the second character "Fei" means "to fly" or "to soar". Together, the name Yifei can be interpreted as "noble and soaring" or "righteous and high-flying".

In ancient Chinese literature, the name Yifei is not widely referenced. However, the individual characters "Yi" and "Fei" appear in various classical texts, such as the Analects of Confucius and the Tao Te Ching, where they are used to convey virtuous and aspirational qualities.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Yifei date back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), when it was occasionally used as a given name for both males and females. During this golden age of Chinese culture and poetry, the name may have been chosen to reflect the aspirations of parents for their children to achieve nobility and greatness.

One of the earliest notable figures with the name Yifei was a Tang Dynasty poet and scholar named Yifei Xing, who lived in the 8th century AD. His poetic works, though not widely known today, were celebrated during his lifetime for their elegance and philosophical depth.

In the 20th century, the name gained prominence with the birth of Yifei Lu (1909-2003), a renowned Chinese painter and calligrapher. Lu's works were heavily influenced by traditional Chinese techniques and themes, and he was widely recognized for his mastery of ink and brush strokes.

Another famous individual with the name Yifei is Yifei Liu (born 1987), a Chinese actress and model who has starred in numerous films and television series. Her breakout role was in the 2008 film "The Forbidden Kingdom", where she co-starred alongside Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Yifei Liu has since become a household name in China and has received numerous accolades for her acting performances.

In the field of sports, Yifei Wang (born 1994) is a Chinese badminton player who has achieved notable success in international competitions. Wang has won multiple medals at the Asian Games and the BWF World Championships, cementing her status as one of China's top badminton players.

The name Yifei has also been borne by several other accomplished individuals, including Yifei Ding (born 1956), a renowned Chinese physicist and academic, and Yifei Zhu (born 1983), a Chinese-American journalist and author who has written extensively on social and cultural issues.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Yifei over time

The chart below shows babies named Yifei registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 2013 to 2017. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.

For Yifei, the clearest high point is 2017. The latest England and Wales figure is 4 births in 2017, compared with 4 at the peak.

Babies born per year

Yifei
01234201320152017

Decades

Yifei by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Yifei was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.

Decade Average rank Total births Years covered
2010s #5399 10 3

Related

Names similar to Yifei

FAQ

Yifei: questions and answers

How popular is the name Yifei in the UK right now?

In 2017, Yifei was ranked #4763 for girls in England and Wales, with 4 births registered.

When was Yifei most popular?

The peak year on record was 2017, with 4 babies registered as Yifei in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Yifei?

A feminine Chinese given name meaning "beautiful flying phoenix".

How many people are called Yifei in the UK?

A total of 10 babies have been registered as Yifei across the 3 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here.

Which records is this page based on?

The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.