Researching Jimmy Lai
Investigate the background of Jimmy Lai using the links below. We hope you find this information useful!
![]() | Did you know that in the 1881 UK census there were 2 people with the Lai surname? In that year Lai was ranked number 3577 for popularity in the UK. |

The name Jimmy means "Form of JAMES. one who supplants" and is of Hebrew origin.
Records of Jimmy Lai on Ancestry
Ancestry is a major source of information if you are filling out the detail of Jimmy Lai in your family tree. With over 30 billion records and 100 million family trees to search, Ancestry is one of the key websites to visit to help you trace your family tree back in time. Free trials are normally available and are a good way to fill out a lot of your tree quickly.
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Ancestry.com Global records search results for Jimmy Lai. |
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Ancestry.com US records search results for Jimmy Lai. |
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Ancestry.co.uk UK records search results for Jimmy Lai. |
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Ancestry.ca Canadian records search results for Jimmy Lai. |
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Ancestry.com.au Australian records search results for Jimmy Lai. |
DNA
Sometimes you can run into a brick wall in your tree and you just don't have enough evidence to make that next step back in time. A DNA test can sometimes help to make a link to a particular family name if you find you share common DNA with people who have the same or similar surnames as each other. If you are lucky then you may get a match within a few generations and discover some Lai ancestors. Additionally, the modern DNA test can give you a breakdown of your ethnic mix - you may be surprised at the results!
Have you reached a brick wall in your Lai Tree?
Birth, Death and Marriage Records for Jimmy Lai and the Lai Family History
Birth, Death and Marriage records are often the best method of making the links to the Lai Genealogy that will form part of your family tree. Although records vary from country to country, they are normally the most formal record of a person's relations. From the sources below you will be able to find a birth record and, from that, a birth certificate can be ordered which lists the names of the mother and father, taking you back another generation in your tree. A marriage certificate may also list the names of the respective fathers of the bride and groom which may then help you to find them earlier in life on a census record enabling you to fill out more detail in the Lai family tree.
Look at Parish Records for Jimmy Lai at Find My Past.
Study for the UK registered births, marriages and deaths of Jimmy Lai using the FreeBMD database.
Explore Genealogy Bank for Jimmy Lai records.
Search MyHeritage for Jimmy Lai information.
Explore the LDS Database for records about Jimmy Lai.
Research the Lai surname using fold3 Military Archives and view images of original Lai Military records.
![]() | Did you know that there are currently 1348 people with the Lai surname in the UK? Lai is now ranked number 2813 for popularity in the UK. |
Lai Genealogy Databases
Another way to build your tree quickly is to use the research other people have already done. This can help to confirm or refute your own deductions - however, be wary of taking this data at face value as other researchers may not have been as meticulous as you. Always try to back up deductions with some definitive sources rather than relying too heavily on others.
Study the WikiTree database for user contributed records for Jimmy Lai.
Study MyTrees for information on the Lai family and people looking to contact living Lai relations.
Explore One Great Family for Lai records submitted by people who are already researching the Lai Family Tree.
Find Jimmy Lai from Ireland on findmypast.ie
Lai Forums
There are a number of forums which are dedicated to rearching particular surnames. These can be good places to share your findings and also to tap into the knowledge that others may already have. These can sometimes be a good way of finding living relations as these tend not to show up on the other sources of information for privacy reasons.
Research the Lai surname using Genealogy.com forums .
![]() | Did you know that there are currently 9115 people with the Lai surname in the USA? Lai is ranked number 154 for popularity in the USA. |
Miscellaneous Lai Databases
Search the Ellis Island Database for information on Jimmy Lai. This database contains over 25 million immigration records detailing passengers arriving in the United States of America.
Some Famous People called Jimmy Lai
Jimmy Lai
Lai Chee-ying (, born 8 December 1947), also known as Jimmy Lai, is a Hong Kong entrepreneur and activist. He founded Giordano, an Asian clothing retailer, Next Digital (formerly Next Media), a Hong Kong-listed media company, and the popular newspaper Apple Daily. He is one of the main contributors to the pro-democracy camp, especially to the Democratic Party. Although he is known as a Hong Kong political figure, he has been a UK national since 1996. Lai is also an art collector.
A prominent critic of the Chinese Communist Party, Lai was arrested on 10 August 2020 by the Hong Kong police on charges of violating the territory's new national security law, an action which prompted widespread criticism. After that, Lai was allowed bail on 12 August, but on 3 December, Lai was accused of fraudulent charges and his bail was revoked. The court decided to jail Lai until April 2021. This is the first time Lai has been detained. Lai regarded the prison life as "the pinnacle of his own life".
In December 2020, Lai was awarded the "Freedom of Press Award" by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) for his role in founding Apple Daily, a news outlet under Lai's pro-democracy leadership that "still dares to openly criticise the Chinese regime and which widely covered last year's pro-democracy protests."
On 29 December, Lai resigned from his roles with Next Digital as director and chairman of the board.
In April 2021 he was sentenced to an additional 14 months in prison for "organizing illegal protests".
Source: Jimmy Lai, Wikipedia, The Free EncyclopediaOther names that sound a bit like Lai
Family names can get corrupted over time, particularly where literacy was not as good. The following list contains some names that have similar sounds so you may want to also look at one or two of the more likely possibilites.
La Lah Laha Lahaie Lahay Lahaye Lahey Lahue Lahy Lau Laughy Lauw Law Lawe Lawee Lawey Lawie Lawya Lay Laye Layhe Layhue Layo Le Lea Leah Leahey Leahy Leay Lee Leehoo Leeuwe Legh Leh Lehew Lehigh Lehoe Lei Leigh Leo Leu Lew Lewe Lewey Lewie Ley Leyh Leyhe Li Lie Lihou Lihow Liu Ll Lo Loa Loe Loew Loewe Loh Lough Louie Louw Louwe Low Loway Lowe Lowea Lowey Lowie Lowy Loy Loya Lua Lue Lui Luy Luya Lye





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