National Le Day – June 24, 2024

History of National Le Day

Le is a romanization of the Chinese Li, a gender-neutral name meaning ‘joy.’ It’s a common choice in the U.S., particularly among Vietnamese Americans. A good example is a cosplayer, costume designer, and internet personality Linda Le. Also known as Vampy or Vamp, Le is an Oklahoma native and the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants. She gained a following online after her amazing cosplays got featured in “Otacool 2,” a showcase book by Kotobukiya, a Japanese toy company. Le has attended hundreds of conventions, appeared in I.G.N. and Kotaku publications, and was applauded for the quality and variety of her costumes.

Actor Cung Le is another example of a Vietnamese-American with this name. Le grew up an immigrant in San Jose, California, where constant bullying and harassment led him to pursue martial arts. He began taking Tae Kwon Do classes at 10 and, by 14, was a competitive wrestler. Le proved to be a prodigy at combat sports, taking on judo, karate, sambo, and other martial arts disciplines. His incredible fighting ability made him the perfect choice to star in action films like “Tekken” (2009) and “Bodyguards and Assassins” (2009). Le also played himself in “Walker, Texas Ranger.”

In the world of athletics, few stand tall like Le Jingyi. The Chinese swimmer holds nearly 20 gold medals, including one she won at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Le was the poster girl for China’s rising dominance in aquatic sports in the mid-1990s. Her bulky frame led to allegations of doping, and though several of her teammates were found guilty of the offense, Le never tested positive for any banned substances. She dominated swimming from 1992 until 2000 when she fell out of form and failed to qualify for the Chinese Olympic team.