Cognomen 利元 (Liyuan 
, 利元 ) , throughout the world, is quite a rare last name. The family name 利元 is characteristic of Taiwan, where it is a rare surname, Singapore, and China, where it is a very rare surname. Not in comparison with a country's population, it is commonest in China, Taiwan, and Malaysia. More prevalently, 利元 is the forename as well as the last name.