Bruce Lee Introduction Bruce Lee was born in the Chinese year of the dragon, in the hour of the dragon on November 27, 1940. From the beginning, it was obvious he was a remarkable and unique child with tremendous energy. His mother named him Lee Jun Fan, which meant "return again." She felt he would return to the United States where he was born while his parents were on tour with the Cantonese opera. A nurse suggested he be called Bruce as an American name for him. Childhood Bruce Lee was born in San Francisco at the Jackson Street Hospital in Chinatown. When he and his family returned to Hong Kong in 1941, he was called Sai Fon, which meant "small phoenix", a feminine name. Bruce had an ol