Chia (surname)

Chia is a surname. It is a Latin-alphabet spelling of various Chinese surnames, as well as an Italian surname.

Chia

Pronunciation	Pronounced in English roughly as /t͡ʃia/ for Chinese surnames, and /kia/ for the Italian surname
Language(s)	Often Chinese, also sometimes Italian
Other names
Variant form(s)	Jia, Kar (家, 賈) Jia (郟, 甲) Xie, Hsieh, Tse (謝) Che (車)

Statistics

Chia was the 20th-most common Chinese surname in Singapore as of 1997 (ranked by English spelling, rather than by Chinese characters). Roughly 22,600 people, or 0.9% of the Chinese Singaporean population at the time, bore the surname Chia.^[1] Among respondents to the 2000 United States Census, Chia was the 856th-most common surname among Asian Pacific Americans, and 17,530th-most common overall, with 1,481 bearers (72.78% of whom identified as Asian/Pacific Islander).^[2] In Italy, 72 families bore the surname Chia, with more than half located in Sardinia.^[3]

Origins

Chia may be a spelling of a number of Chinese surnames, based on different varieties of Chinese, listed below by their romanisation in Mandarin pinyin:

• Jia (various characters and tones), all spelled Chia in the Wade–Giles romanisation of Mandarin used before the development of pinyin, and still widespread in Taiwan.^[4]
  • Jiā (家; IPA: /t͡ɕia⁵⁵/)^[5]
  • Jiá (郟; IPA: /t͡ɕia³⁵/), which originated as a toponymic surname.^[5]
  • Jiǎ (賈; IPA: /t͡ɕia²¹⁴/), which also originated as a toponymic surname referring to the State of Jia [zh], one of the ancient Chinese states, a feudal territory granted to a son of Shu Yu of Tang, located in modern-day Linfen, Shanxi.^[5]
  • Jiǎ (甲; IPA: /t͡ɕia²¹⁴/), which originated as a shortening of an ancient toponymic surname Jiǎfù (甲父).^[5]
• Xiè (謝), spelled Chia based on its pronunciation in various Southern Min dialects, including:^[6]
  • Hokkien (Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chiā; IPA: /t͡ɕia³³/)
  • Teochew (Peng'im: Zia⁷; IPA: /t͡sia¹¹/)^[7]
• Chē (車), spelled Chia based on its pronunciation in various Southern Min dialects, including:^[8]
  • Hokkien (POJ: Chhia, IPA: /t͡ɕʰia⁴⁴/)
  • Teochew (Peng'im: Cia¹; IPA: /t͡sʰia³³/)^[9]

It is also an Italian toponymic surname referring to Chia, Province of South Sardinia. That toponym may have originated from a Phoenician word for "valley".^[10]

Chinese surname 谢

For people with the same Chinese surname spelled other ways in English, see Xie (surname) § Famous people with the surname Xie.

• Chia Boon Leong (谢文龙; 1925–2022), Singaporean footballer
• Eric Chia (谢英福; 1930s–2008), Malaysian businessman
• Nicholas Chia (谢益裕; 1938–2024), third Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
• Chia Thye Poh (谢太宝; born 1941), Singaporean political activist imprisoned for 23 years without charge or trial
• Mantak Chia (謝明德; born 1944), Thai Taoist master
• Yvonne Chia (谢姚依雯; born c. 1953), Malaysian banker
• Chia Yong Yong (谢邕邕; born 1962), Singaporean lawyer and politician
• Steve Chia (谢镜丰; born 1970), Singaporean politician
• Danny Chia (谢志荣; born 1972), Malaysian golfer
• Michelle Chia (谢韵仪; born 1975), Singaporean actress
• Elvin Chia (谢俊道; born 1977), Malaysian swimmer
• Amber Chia (谢丽萍; born 1981), Malaysian model and actress
• Wen Shin Chia (谢雯欣; born c. 1991), Malaysian environmentalist
• Kimberly Chia (谢静仪; born 1995), Singaporean actress
• Aaron Chia (谢定峰; born 1997), Malaysian badminton player
• Nelson Chia (谢燊杰), Singaporean television actor and director

Chinese surname 賈

For people with the same Chinese surname spelled other ways in English, see Jia (surname) § Notable people, and zh:賈姓.

• Chia Ching-teh (賈景德; 1880–1960), Republic of China politician
• Chia Lien-chen (賈連仁; 1912–?), Chinese middle-distance runner
• Pei-yuan Chia (賈培源; born 1939), Hong Kong-born American banker
• Alyssa Chia (賈靜雯; born 1974), Taiwanese actress
• Chih-Ta Chia (賈至達), Taiwanese physicist
• Wenlan Chia (賈雯蘭), Taipei-born American fashion designer

Other or unknown

People with a non-Chinese surname Chia, or whose names as written in Chinese characters are not available:

• Chia Chungchang (fl. 1948), Chinese basketball player
• Víctor Li-Carrillo Chía (1929–1988), Peruvian philosopher
• Cheng Sait Chia (1940–1981), Singaporean-born Canadian poet
• Sandro Chia (born 1946), Italian painter and sculptor
• Beatrice Chia (born 1974), Singaporean actress
• Gec Chia (born 1979), Filipino businessman and former basketball player
• Daphne Chia (born 1996), Singaporean gymnast
• Luis Carlos Chía (born 1997), Colombian cyclist
• Grace Chia, Singaporean writer

See also

• All pages with titles beginning with Chia
• All pages with titles containing Chia
• Chica (name)
• Chika (general name)

References

1. "Popular Chinese Surnames in Singapore". Statistics Singapore Newsletter. Vol. 20, no. 2. October 1997. Archived from the original on 23 February 2008. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
2. "Most common last names for Asians and Pacific Islanders in the U.S." Mongabay. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
3. "Diffusione del cognome Chia". Mappe dei Cognomi Italiani. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
4. Louie, Emma Woo (1988). Chinese American Names: Tradition and Transition. McFarland. pp. 40, 75, 183. ISBN 9780786438778.
5. Chao, Sheau-yueh J. (2000). Genealogical Research on Chinese Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company. p. 31. ISBN 9780806349466.
6. Hanks, Patrick; Coates, Richard; McClure, Peter, eds. (2016). The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland. Oxford University Press. p. 491. ISBN 9780192527479.
7. Fielde, Adele M. (1883). "謝". A pronouncing and defining dictionary of the Swatow dialect, arranged according to syllables and tones. Shanghai: American Presbyterian Mission Press. p. 94. Additionally see "謝". mogher.com. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
8. Hanks, Coates & McClure 2016, p. 491
9. Fielde 1883, p. 94. Additionally see "車". mogher.com. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
10. Concas, Giuseppe. "Chia". Origine & significato dei cognome sardi. Retrieved 18 January 2018.