Pei (surname)

{{for|the surname romanized Pei in Wade–Giles|Bei (surname)}}

{{Infobox surname

| name = Pei (裴)

| image =

| image_size =

| caption =

| pronunciation = Péi (Mandarin)

| language = Chinese

| languageorigin = Old Chinese

| origin =

| derivation =

| meaning =

| variant =

| cognate =

| derivative =

| seealso =

| family =

}}

Pei ({{zh|c=裴|p=Péi}}) is an East Asian surname originating in north China. In 2008, it was the 156th most common surname in mainland China, with at least 830,000 Chinese sharing this name."[http://www.taiwan.cn/zppd/XSDG/200901/t20090106_811068.htm 中国最新300大姓排名（2008] [Statistics on the number of citizens with each surname in China, based on records of National Identity Cards]." 2009-01-06. Accessed 20 Jun 2015.{{in lang|zh}}

There are also people with this surname based on the same Chinese letter in Vietnam (as Bùi), where it is in relative terms much more common (the 9th most common surname), and Korea (as Bae; 배).

The surname Lei ({{linktext|壘}}) was accidentally created from Pei as a result of a transcription error. Chao, Sheau-yueh J. 尋根溯源中國人的姓氏: Genealogical Research on Chinese Surnames

By coincidence, "Pei" is also an Italian surname (of two syllables), whose meaning may derive from the pear or pear tree, or alternatively, represent an abbreviation of "Pietro" or "Pompeo." Joseph Guerin Fucilla, Our Italian Surnames, p. 86.