Thiam is a both a surname of West African origin and an element in Chinese given names.

Surname

Origins and statistics

As a surname, Thiam is found among the Fula and

Wolof Wolof or Wollof may refer to: * Wolof people, an ethnic group found in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * Wolof language, a language spoken in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * The Wolof or Jolof Empire, a medieval West African successor of the Mal ...

people of Senegal and nearby countries, and originated from a family of goldsmiths. In the modern

Fula language Fula ,Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student’s Handbook'', Edinburgh also known as Fulani or Fulah (, , ; Adlam: , , ), is a Senegambian language spoken by around 30 million people as a set of various dialects in a continuum that stre ...

and

Wolof language Wolof (; Wolofal: ) is a language of Senegal, Mauritania, and the Gambia, and the native language of the Wolof people. Like the neighbouring languages Serer and Fula, it belongs to the Senegambian branch of the Niger–Congo language family. ...

orthographies, it is spelled Caam. Thiam is one of a number of older spellings which originated during French colonial rule; others include Tyam, Chiam, and Cham. This surname is spelled Thiam in

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

, and Cham in the

Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

. The surname originated from Toucouleur or Laobe people, and is found among

Pulaar language Pulaar (in Adlam: , in Ajami: ) is a Fula language spoken primarily as a first language by the Fula and Toucouleur peoples in the Senegal River valley area traditionally known as Futa Tooro and further south and east. Pulaar speakers, known as ...

speakers. It is not authentically Wolof, and only made its way to the Wolof through Wolof mixture. French government statistics show 508 people with the surname Thiam born in France from 1991 to 2000, 532 from 1981 to 1990, 196 from 1971 to 1980, and 143 in earlier time periods. The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

found 935 people with the surname Thiam, making it the 26,171st-most-common surname in the country. This represented an increase from 494 people (41,522nd-most-common) in the 2000 census. In both censuses, about nine-tenths of the bearers of the surname identified as Black, and roughly two to three percent as White or Asian.

Government officials and politicians

* Awa Thiam (born 1936), Senegalese government official in the Ministry of Women and Children *

Augustin Thiam Augustin Abdoulaye Thiam Houphouët (born 14 August 1952) is an Ivorian politician. Since 2011, he has been the governor of the Yamoussoukro Autonomous District. When Thiam was young, his father was government minister and the ambassador to Moroc ...

(born 1952), Ivorian politician, governor of the Yamoussoukro Autonomous District *

Doudou Thiam Doudou Thiam (3 February 1926 – 6 July 1999) was a Senegalese diplomat, politician and lawyer. Thiam was the first ever foreign minister of independent Senegal (1960–1962) and the third (1962–1968). From 1970 until his death in 1999, Th ...

(1926–1999), Senegalese diplomat and politician *

Habib Thiam Habib Thiam (21 January 1933 – 26 June 2017)"Sénégal : décès de l'ancien ...

(1933–2017), Senegalese politician who twice served as prime minister * Safiatou Thiam (), Senegalese public health official *

Samba Diouldé Thiam Samba Diouldé Thiam is a Senegalese politician from Matam. He is a member of the National Assembly of Senegal. See also *Politics of Senegal Politics in Senegal takes place within the framework of a presidential democratic republic. The Pr ...

, Senegalese legislator and mathematician *

Tidjane Thiam Tidjane Thiam (; born 29 July 1962) is a French and Ivorian businessman, and the executive chairman of Freedom Acquisition Corp. He was the chief executive officer (CEO) of Swiss bank Credit Suisse from March 2015 to February 2020. He was the chie ...

(born 1962), Ivorian banker and economic advisor to the Ivorian government

Athletes

Abdou Mbacke Thiam Abdou Mbacke Thiam (born 3 February 1992) is a Senegalese footballer who plays as a forward for Maryland Bobcats in the National Independent Soccer Association The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) is a professional men's soccer ...

(born 1992), Senegalese footballer in the United States * Abdoul Thiam (born 1976), German footballer *

Abdoulaye Thiam Abdoulaye Thiam (born January 1, 1984) is a Senegalese sabre fencer. Thiam represented Senegal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of C ...

(born 1984), Senegalese sabre fencer *

Abdoulkader Thiam Abdoulkader Thiam (born 3 October 1998) is a Mauritanian professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Cholet. Club career In June 2021, Thiam joined Boulogne. In June 2022, he signed for Cholet Cholet (, , probably from Latin ...

(born 1998), Mauritanian footballer in France * Amy Mbacké Thiam (born 1976), Senegalese sprinter *

Assane Thiam Assane Thiam (born 22 November 1948) is a Senegalese basketball player. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Mu ...

(born 1948), Senegalese basketball player *

Brahim Thiam Brahim Thiam (born 24 February 1974) is a former professional footballer who played as a defender or midfielder. Born in France, he made 17 appearances the Mali national team at international level. Career Thiam was born in Bobigny, France. H ...

(born 1974), French and Malian footballer *

Demba Thiam Demba Thiam may refer to: *Demba Thiam (footballer, born 1989) Demba Thiam (born 2 December 1989) is a French footballer who plays as a leftback for Dunkerque. Professional career Thiam made his professional debut with Dunkerque in a 1-0 Ligue ...

(born 1998), Senegalese footballer in Italy *

Djibril Thiam Djibril Thiam (born July 6, 1986) is a Senegalese basketball player for Al-Fateh and the Senegalese national team, where he participated at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 17th edition of the FI ...

(born 1986), Senegalese basketball player * Ibrahima Thiam (born 1981), Senegalese footballer in Belgium *

Khaly Thiam Khaly Thiam (born 7 January 1994) is a Senegalese professional association football, footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Hungarian club MTK Budapest FC, MTK Budapest. Career Club Thiam started his senior footballing career in 20 ...

(born 1994), Senegalese footballer in Bulgaria *

Mame Baba Thiam Mame Baba Thiam (born 9 October 1992) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Süper Lig club Kayserispor and the Senegal national team. Club career Youth career Born in Nguidile, Louga Region, Thiam left for Italy ...

(born 1992), Senegalese footballer in Turkey *

Mamadou Thiam Mamadou Thiam (born 20 March 1995) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Romanian side Universitatea Cluj. He is also a former Senegal U20s international. Career In August 2017, Thiam joined Barnsley F.C. from Dijo ...

(born 1995), Senegalese footballer in England * Mamadou Touré Thiam (born 1992), Senegalese footballer in Israel * Mohamed Thiam (born 1996), Guinean footballer *

Nafissatou Thiam Nafissatou "Nafi" Thiam (; born 19 August 1994) is a Belgian athlete specializing in multi-event competition. Thiam is a two-time Olympic gold medalist, winning the heptathlon event at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics. She is the only Belgian ...

(born 1994), Belgian athlete * Oumoul Thiam (born 1990), Senegalese basketball player *

Pablo Thiam Pablo Thiam (born 3 January 1974) is a Guinean former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He holds a German passport. Club career Born in Conakry, Thiam grew up as the son of a Guinean diplomat in the former German cap ...

(born 1974), Guinean footballer *

Serigne Abdou Thiam Serigne Abdou (28 February 1995 – 27 September 2016) was a Qatari footballer of Senegalese descent who played for Al Khor as a defender. He also played for the Qatar youth team. Club career Abdou graduated from Aspire Academy in 2013. He m ...

(1995–2016), Qatari footballer of Senegalese descent

Other people

* Akon (Aliaume Damala Badara Akon Thiam) (born 1973), American singer and rapper *

Jenna Thiam Jenna Thiam (born 19 December 1990) is a Belgian actress. She is known for the French series '' The Returned''. Early life Thiam was born in Brussels. She wanted to be an actress from the age of four. She took a course in acting in New York at ...

(born 1990), French actress *

Iba Der Thiam Iba Der Thiam, also known as I. D. Thiam (26 February 193731 October 2020 Mor Thiam Mor Dogo Thiam (born May 22, 1941) is a Senegalese drummer, cultural historian, and entertainment consultant. His surname is pronounced "Chahm". Career Thiam recorded his first album, ''Ndende Safarra'', in 1974 with B.B. King and Nancy Wilson ...

(born 1941), Senegalese drummer

Given name

Thiam can be a romanisation, based on the pronunciation in 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 ...

, of multiple

Chinese characters Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...

. Chinese given names frequently consist of two characters, as in the names of all of the people listed below. The character in common in all of the two-character names below means "to increase" (); it can be spelled as Thiam based on its pronunciation in

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...

or 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 Chaoshan). Additionally see *

Gan Thiam Poh Gan Thiam Poh ( zh, s=颜添宝, p=Yán Tiānbǎo; born 23 October 1963) is a Singaporean politician and businessman. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Fernvale di ...

(; born 1963), Singaporean opposition politician and businessman *

O Thiam Chin O Thiam Chin (born 8 December 1977) is a Singaporean author. Many of his stories explore themes of love, heartbreak, alienation and gay male sexuality. Biography O was born into a family of Mandarin-speaking hawkers. He studied at Ang Mo Kio ...

(; born 1977), Singaporean writer *

Tony Tan Lay Thiam Tony Tan Lay Thiam (; born 1970) is a Singaporean politician and businessman who stood as a candidate for the opposition National Solidarity Party in the 2011 general election. He was formerly an officer in the Singapore Armed Forces. Education ...

(; born 1970), Singaporean People's Action Party politician and businessman *

Yap Thiam Hien John Yap Thiam Hien (25May 191325April 1989) was an Indonesian human rights lawyer. Life Born in Kutaraja, Aceh, Dutch East Indies, his father was Yap Sin Eng and his mother was Hwan Tjing Nio. Yap's family, living in genteel but reduced cir ...

(; 1913–1989), Indonesian human rights lawyer *

Yeow Chai Thiam Dato' Dr. Yeow Chai Thiam (; 19 April 1953 – 7 January 2016) was a Malaysian politician and medical doctor. He was a Malaysian Federal Senator for one term, gaining an appointment in 2009. He was a member of the Conservative Malaysian Chine ...

( 1953–2016), Malaysian medical doctor and politician

References

{{given name, type=both Senegalese surnames Gambian surnames Chinese given names