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. 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). In Italy, 72 families bore the surname Chia, with more than half located in Sardinia.
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. Jiā (; IPA: /t͡ɕia⁵⁵/) Jiá (; IPA: /t͡ɕia³⁵/), which originated as a toponymic surname. 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. Jiǎ (; IPA: /t͡ɕia²¹⁴/), which originated as a shortening of an ancient toponymic surname Jiǎfù (). Xiè (), spelled Chia based on its pronunciation in various Southern Min dialects, including: Hokkien (Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chiā; IPA: /t͡ɕia³³/) Teochew (Peng'im: Zia7; IPA: /t͡sia¹¹/) Additionally see Chē (), spelled Chia based on its pronunciation in various Southern Min dialects, including: Hokkien (POJ: Chhia, IPA: /t͡ɕʰia⁴⁴/) Teochew (Peng'im: Cia1; IPA: /t͡sʰia³³/). Additionally see
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".
Chinese surname 谢
Chia Boon Leong (; 1925–2022), Singaporean footballer Eric Chia (; 1930s–2008), Malaysian businessman Nicholas Chia (; 1938–2024), third Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore Chia Thye Poh (; born 1941), Singaporean political activist imprisoned for 23 years without charge or trial Mantak Chia (; born 1944), Thai Taoist master Yvonne Chia (; born ), Malaysian banker Chia Yong Yong (; born 1962), Singaporean lawyer and politician Steve Chia (; born 1970), Singaporean politician Danny Chia (; born 1972), Malaysian golfer Michelle Chia (; born 1975), Singaporean actress Elvin Chia (; born 1977), Malaysian swimmer Amber Chia (; born 1981), Malaysian model and actress Wen Shin Chia (; born ), Malaysian environmentalist Kimberly Chia (; born 1995), Singaporean actress Aaron Chia (; born 1997), Malaysian badminton player Nelson Chia (), Singaporean television actor and director
Chinese surname 賈
Chia Ching-teh (; 1880–1960), Republic of China politician Chia Lien-chen (; 1912–?), Chinese middle-distance runner Pei-yuan Chia (; born 1939), Hong Kong-born American banker Alyssa Chia (; born 1974), Taiwanese actress Chih-Ta Chia (), Taiwanese physicist Wenlan Chia (), 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)
References