Tai (surname) explained

Tai is a surname in various cultures.

Arabic

Tai or al-Ta'i, at-Ta'i (Arabic: الطائي), also spelled al-Ta'i or at-Ta'iy, is an Arabic name. In ancient times it originated as a nisba indicating affiliation with the Tayy tribe.

• Hatim al-Tai (Hatem ibn Abdellah ibn Sa'ad at-Ta'iy, died 578), Arab poet
• Dawud Tai (Abu Solaiman Dawud ibn Nosair al-Ta'i, died 770s or 780s), Sufi mystic
• Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai (1945–2020), Iraqi Minister of Defense under Saddam Hussein
• Ashraf Tai, Burmese-born Pakistani martial artist who states that he is a descendant of Hatim al-Tai

Chinese

Tái is the Pinyin romanisation of the Chinese surname written using the character . According to traditional stories recorded in the Shuowen Jiezi, it originated as a toponymic surname referring to the city by the same name.^[1]

• Tai Chih-yuan (Chinese: 邰智源; born 1965), Taiwanese comedian
• Samuel Tai (Chinese: 邰正宵; born 1966), Hong Kong-born Taiwan singer

Tái is also the Pinyin romanisation of the Chinese surname written using the character .

• Tai Xiaohu (Chinese: 台晓虎; born 1998), Chinese diver

Tai may also be the Wade-Giles transcription of Dai (Chinese: 戴); see that page for people with that Chinese surname.

People

• Tai Beng Hai (born 1965), Malaysian field hockey player
• Tai Chen-yao (1948–2017), Taiwanese politician
• Tai Cheuk-yin, Hong Kong politician
• Tai Chih-yuan (born 1965), Taiwanese comedian
• Tai Hung-hsu (born 1987), Taiwanese football skier
• Tai An Khang (born 1994), Malaysian badminton player
• Tai Tak-fung (born 1948), Chinese political figure
• Tai Tzu-ying (born 1994), Taiwanese badminton player
• Tai William (born 1997), Taiwanese speed skater
• Tai Xiaohu (born 1998), Chinese diver

Japanese

As a Japanese surname, Tai could be written with the single characters,,, or, as well as numerous two-character combinations from one character read ta (e.g.,) and another read i (e.g. on-yomi of or kun-yomi of or).^[2] People with these surnames include:

• Ichiro Tai, Japanese electrical engineer
• Miyuki Tai (born 1980), Japanese badminton player
• , Japanese voice actor

Korean

See main article: Tae (Korean surname).

Tai is an alternative spelling of the Korean surname Tae . In a study by the National Institute of the Korean Language based on 2007 application data for South Korean passports, it was found that 28.5% of people with that surname spelled it in Latin letters as Tai in their passports, vs. 57.1% as Tae.^[3]

Other

• Alice Tai (born 1999), British paralympic swimmer
• António Taí (born 1948), Portuguese footballer
• Daniel Tai (born 1977), New Zealand boxer
• Eric Tai (born 1964), New Zealand actor of Tongan descent
• Jordan Tai (born 1982), New Zealand boxer and kickboxer
• Katherine Tai (born 1974), American diplomat
• Kobe Tai (born 1972), stage name of an American pornographic actress of Asian descent, changed from Coby Ty to sound "more ethnic" for marketing purposes^[4]
• Soaeb Tai (born 1989), Indian cricketer

See also

• Tai (disambiguation)
• Tai (given name)

Notes and References

1. Book: Chao, Sheau-yueh J.. Genealogical Research on Chinese Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company. 2000. 169.
2. Book: Breen, Jim. Jim Breen

   . Japanese Names Dictionary. Jim Breen. Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group. 2011. 17 October 2015.

3. Book: http://korean.go.kr/front/etcData/etcDataView.do?etc_seq=179&mn_id=46. ko:성씨 로마자 표기 방안: 마련을 위한 토론회. Plan for romanisation of surnames: a preparatory discussion. National Institute of the Korean Language. 25 June 2009. 22 October 2015. 61.
4. Kobe Tai. Damon Shavers. Kobe Tai. Read Junk. New York City. 30 November 1998. 11 September 2015.