Chia (surname) explained

Chia
Language:	Often Chinese, also sometimes Italian
Pronunciation:	Pronounced in English roughly as /t͡ʃia/ for Chinese surnames, and /kia/ for the Italian surname

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

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 (; IPA: /t͡ɕia⁵⁵/)^[5]
  • Jiá (; IPA: /t͡ɕia³⁵/), which originated as a toponymic surname.^[5]
  • Jiǎ (; IPA: /t͡ɕia²¹⁴/), which also originated as a toponymic surname referring to the, 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 (; IPA: /t͡ɕia²¹⁴/), which originated as a shortening of an ancient toponymic surname Jiǎfù (Chinese: [[:zh:甲父|甲父]]).^[5]
• Xiè, 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, spelled Chia based on its pronunciation in various Southern Min dialects, including:
  • Hokkien (POJ: Chhia, IPA: /t͡ɕʰia⁴⁴/)
  • Teochew (Peng'im: Cia¹; IPA: /t͡sʰia³³/)^[8]

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".^[9]

Chinese surname 谢

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

Chinese surname 賈

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

• Chica (name)
• Chika (general name)

Notes and References

1. News: Popular Chinese Surnames in Singapore. Statistics Singapore Newsletter. 20. 2. October 1997. 8 January 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20080223075738/http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/papers/people/chinesesurnames.html. 23 February 2008.
2. Web site: Most common last names for Asians and Pacific Islanders in the U.S.. Mongabay. 8 January 2018.
3. Web site: Diffusione del cognome Chia. Mappe dei Cognomi Italiani. 18 January 2018.
4. Book: Louie, Emma Woo. Chinese American Names: Tradition and Transition. McFarland. 1988. 9780786438778. 40, 75, 183.
5. Book: Chao, Sheau-yueh J.. Genealogical Research on Chinese Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company. 2000. 31. 9780806349466 .
6. Book: Patrick. Hanks. Richard. Coates. Peter. McClure. The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland. Oxford University Press. 2016. 9780192527479. 491.
7. Book: Fielde, Adele M.. https://archive.org/stream/pronouncingdefin00fielrich#page/94/mode/2up. Adele M. Fielde. 謝. A pronouncing and defining dictionary of the Swatow dialect, arranged according to syllables and tones. Shanghai. American Presbyterian Mission Press. 1883. 94. Additionally see Web site: 謝. mogher.com. 11 January 2018.
8. . Additionally see Web site: 車. mogher.com. 11 January 2018.
9. Web site: Chia. Giuseppe. Concas. Origine & significato dei cognome sardi. 18 January 2018.