Chia is a surname. It is a Latin-alphabet spelling of various

Chinese surname Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicized ethnic groups in China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, and among overseas Chinese communities around the world such as Singapore and Malaysia. Written Chinese names begin with surnames, unlike the ...

s, as well as an Italian surname.

Statistics

Chia was the 20th-most common Chinese surname in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

as of 1997 (ranked by English spelling, rather than by Chinese characters). Roughly 22,600 people, or 0.9% of the

Chinese Singaporean Chinese Singaporeans () are Singaporeans of Chinese descent. Chinese Singaporeans constitute 75.9% of the Singaporean citizen population according to the official census, making them the largest ethnic group among them. As early as the 10th ...

population at the time, bore the surname Chia. Among respondents to the

2000 United States Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 ce ...

, 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 Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, 72 families bore the surname Chia, with more than half located in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

Origins

Chia may be a spelling of a number of Chinese surnames, based on different

varieties of Chinese Chinese, also known as Sinitic, is a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family consisting of hundreds of local varieties, many of which are not mutually intelligible. Variation is particularly strong in the more mountainous southeast of main ...

, listed below by their romanisation in

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...

: * Jia (various characters and tones), all spelled Chia in the

Wade–Giles Wade–Giles () is a romanization system for Mandarin Chinese. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Francis Wade, during the mid-19th century, and was given completed form with Herbert A. Giles's '' Chinese–English Dictionary'' o ...

romanisation of Mandarin used before the development of pinyin, and still widespread in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. ** Jiā (; IPA: /t͡ɕia⁵⁵/) ** Jiá (; IPA: /t͡ɕia³⁵/), which originated as a

toponymic surname A toponymic surname or topographic surname is a surname derived from a place name.

. ** 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 Shu Yu of Tang (), ancestral name (姓): Ji (姬) given name (名): Yu (虞), and Ziyu (子於), was the founder of the State of Tang during the early Zhou Dynasty (1046–771 BC) of ancient China. The State of Tang would later be renamed Jin by ...

, located in modern-day

Linfen Linfen is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shanxi province, China, bordering Shaanxi province to the west. It is situated along the banks of the Fen River. It has an area of and according to the 2020 Census, a population of 3,976, ...

, 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 Southern Min (), Minnan (Mandarin pronunciation: ) or Banlam (), is a group of linguistically similar and historically related Sinitic languages that form a branch of Min Chinese spoken in Fujian (especially the Minnan region), most of Taiwan ( ...

dialects, including: **

Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages in ...

(

Pe̍h-ōe-jī (; ; ), also sometimes known as the Church Romanization, is an orthography used to write variants of Southern Min Chinese, particularly Taiwanese and Amoy Hokkien. Developed by Western missionaries working among the Chinese diaspora in South ...

: ''Chiā''; IPA: /t͡ɕia³³/) ** Teochew (

Peng'im (: ( Teochew) (Swatow), : or , : or ) is a Teochew dialect romanisation system as a part of Guangdong Romanisation published by Guangdong Provincial Education Department in 1960. Tone of this system is based on Swatow dialect. The system ...

: ''Zia⁷''; IPA: /t͡sia¹¹/) * Chē (), spelled Chia based on its pronunciation in various Southern Min dialects, including: **Hokkien (POJ: ''Chhia'', IPA: /t͡ɕʰia⁴⁴/) **Teochew (Peng'im: ''Cia¹''; IPA: /t͡sʰia³³/) It is also an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

toponymic surname referring to Chia,

Province of South Sardinia The Province of South Sardinia ( it, provincia del Sud Sardegna; sc, provìntzia de Sud Sardigna) is an Italian province of Sardinia instituted on 4 February 2016. It includes the suppressed provinces of Province of Carbonia-Iglesias, Carbonia- ...

. That toponym may have originated from a Phoenician word for "valley".

Chinese surname 谢

* Chia Boon Leong (; 1925–2022), Singaporean footballer *

Eric Chia Malay titles, Tan Sri Eric Chia Eng Hock () was a prominent Malaysian businessman. He died of a heart attack in Sungai Petani, Kedah, aged 74. Eric Chia and Lim Guan Eng On 11 April 1996, Lim Guan Eng had lodged, at the Sentul police headquart ...

(; 1930s–2008), Malaysian businessman *

Nicholas Chia Nicholas Gerald Chia Yeck Joo () (born 8 April 1938) DD, STL was the third Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore and the first Singapore-born clergyman to hold the office. He officially retired as Archbishop of Singapore on 18 May 2013, and ...

(; born 1938), third Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore *

Chia Thye Poh Chia Thye Poh (born 1941) is a Singaporean former politician. A former member of the Barisan Sosialis, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Jurong SMC between 1963 and 1966. A leftist populist, Chia is most notable for being detained ...

(; born 1941), Singaporean political activist imprisoned for 23 years without charge or trial *

Mantak Chia Mantak Chia (Chinese: 謝明德, Pinyin: Xiè Míngdé, born April 24, 1944 in Bangkok, Thailand) is a Taoist Master. Mantak Chia is the creator of the Healing Tao, Tao Yoga, Universal Healing Tao System, and Tao Garden Health Spa & Resort, loca ...

(; born 1944), Thai Taoist master * Yvonne Chia (; born ), Malaysian banker *

Chia Yong Yong Chia Yong Yong (; born 1962) is a Singaporean lawyer, disability advocate and a former Nominated Member of Parliament of Singapore from August 2014 to September 2018. Education Chia was educated in Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' School (Secon ...

(; born 1962), Singaporean lawyer and politician *

Steve Chia ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...

(; born 1970), Singaporean politician * Danny Chia (; born 1972), Malaysian golfer *

Michelle Chia Michelle Chia (; born 19 September 1975) is a former Singaporean actress and television host. She was prominently a full-time Mediacorp artiste from 1980 to 2012 but continues to film on an ad-hoc basis. Career Acting career Chia started he ...

(; born 1975), Singaporean actress *

Elvin Chia Elvin Chia Tshun Thau (born 26 April 1977) is a retired Malaysian swimmer. He was born in Sandakan, Sabah. He was the Malaysian Olympian of the Year in 1999. He also competed at the Summer Olympic Games: 1996 and 2000 File:2000 Events Collage ...

(; born 1977), Malaysian swimmer *

Amber Chia Amber Chia (, pinyin: ''Xiè Lìpíng''; born 14 December 1981) is a Malaysian model, actress, TV host and brand ambassador. She was born in Teluk Intan, Malaysia but grew up in the town of Tawau in Sabah, East Malaysia. Chia started her own c ...

(; born 1981), Malaysian model and actress * Wen Shin Chia (; born ), Malaysian environmentalist *

Kimberly Chia Kimberly Chia () is a Singaporean actress. Early life and education Kimberly Chia graduated from Compassvale Secondary School in 2011. Whilst she had wanted to study at LASALLE College of the Arts upon graduating, having received lower tha ...

(; born 1995), Singaporean actress *

Aaron Chia Aaron Chia Teng Fong (Chinese: 谢定峰, born 24 February 1997) is a Malaysian badminton player. He joined the national team since 2015. He represented Malaysia in the 2018 Thomas Cup. Chia and his partner Soh Wooi Yik were the All England O ...

(; born 1997), Malaysian badminton player *

Nelson Chia Nelson Chia () is a Singaporean theatre director, actor and lecturer. He is the co-founder of Nine Years Theatre. Early life and education Chia studied at The Chinese High School and Hwa Chong Junior College. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Thea ...

(), Singaporean television actor and director

Chinese surname 賈

Chia Ching-teh Chia Ching-teh (1880-1960; ) was a politician in the Republic of China. He was the Vice Premier in 1949. Background Chia was educated at Hubei Military Academy. Chinese government records indicated that he was a member of the Examination Yuan, ...

(; 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 Sandro Chia (born 20 April 1946) is an Italian painter and sculptor. In the late 1970s and early 1980s he was, with Francesco Clemente, Enzo Cucchi, Nicola De Maria, and Mimmo Paladino, a principal member of the Italian Neo-Expressionist mov ...

(born 1946), Italian painter and sculptor * Beatrice Chia (born 1974), Singaporean actress *

Gec Chia George Christian T. Chia (born August 19, 1979), better known as Gec Chia, is a Filipino business executive and former professional basketball player. Amateur career Chia initially wanted to play tennis, but due to the growing popularity of ba ...

(born 1979), Filipino businessman and former basketball player * Daphne Chia (born 1996), Singaporean gymnast * Luis Carlos Chía (born 1997), Colombian cyclist *

Grace Chia Grace Chia (born 1973) is a Singaporean writer, poet, journalist and editor. Career Chia has published numerous books of poetry, fiction and non-fiction, including a novel, ''The Wanderlusters'' and a short story collection, ''Every Moving Thing ...

, Singaporean writer

References