Tai is a surname in various cultures.

Arabic

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Tai or al-Ta'i, at-Ta'i (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.[citation needed]

  • 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

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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 (邰智源; born 1965), Taiwanese comedian
  • Samuel Tai (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 may also be the Wade-Giles transcription of Dai ();[2] see that page for people with that Chinese surname.

People

Japanese

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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 ).[3] People with these surnames include:

  • Ichiro Tai, Japanese electrical engineer
  • Miyuki Tai (born 1980), Japanese badminton player
  • Yūki Tai (泰 勇気, born 1977), Japanese voice actor

Korean

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Tai is an alternative spelling of the Korean surname Tae (Korean; Hanja). 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.[4]

Other

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  • 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[5]
  • Soaeb Tai (born 1989), Indian cricketer

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Chao, Sheau-yueh J. (2000). Genealogical Research on Chinese Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company. p. 169.
  2. ^ Chao 2000, p. 168
  3. ^ Breen, Jim (2011). Japanese Names Dictionary. Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  4. ^ 성씨 로마자 표기 방안: 마련을 위한 토론회 [Plan for romanisation of surnames: a preparatory discussion]. National Institute of the Korean Language. 25 June 2009. p. 61. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  5. ^ Kobe Tai (30 November 1998). "Kobe Tai". Read Junk (Interview). Interviewed by Damon Shavers. New York City. Retrieved 11 September 2015.