Thiam is a both a surname of West African origin and an element in

Chinese given name Chinese given names () are the given names adopted by speakers of the Chinese language, both in majority-Sinophone countries and among the Chinese diaspora. Description Chinese given names are almost always made up of one or - usually - two chara ...

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

goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...

s. In the modern

Fula language Fula ( ),Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student's Handbook'', Edinburgh also known as Fulani ( ) or Fulah (, , ; Adlam script, Adlam: , , ; Ajami script, Ajami: , , ), is a Senegambian languages, Senegambian language spoken by arou ...

and

Wolof language Wolof ( ; , ) is a Niger–Congo language spoken by the Wolof people in much of the West African subregion of Senegambia that is split between the countries of Senegal, The Gambia and Mauritania. Like the neighbouring languages Serer and Fula, ...

orthographies, it is spelled Caam. Thiam is one of a number of older spellings which originated during

French colonial rule The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates, and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French colonial empire", that ex ...

; others include Tyam, Chiam, and Cham. This surname is spelled Thiam in

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

, and Cham in the

Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

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

Pulaar language Pulaar (in Latin: , in Ajami: ), often referred to as Pulaar du Nord, is dialect of the 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 a ...

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 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 Awa Thiam (born 1950) is a Senegalese politician, academic, writer, and activist. She serves as Senegal's Director of the National Center for Assistance and Training of Women under the Ministry of Women and Children. She is an advocate against ...

(born 1936), Senegalese government official in the Ministry of Women and Children * Amadou Thiam (born 1984), Malian politician *

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 Mor ...

(born 1952), Ivorian politician, governor of the Yamoussoukro Autonomous District * Brenda Thiam (born 1969), American politician * Doudou Thiam (1926–1999), Senegalese diplomat and politician * Habib Thiam (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 ...

, Senegalese legislator and mathematician *

Tidjane Thiam Tidjane Thiam (; born 29 July 1962) is an 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 chief financi ...

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

Athletes

* Abdou Mbacke Thiam (born 1992), Senegalese footballer in the United States * Abdoul Thiam (born 1976), German footballer * Abdoulaye Thiam (born 1984), Senegalese sabre fencer * Abdoulkader Thiam (born 1998), Mauritanian footballer in France *

Amy Mbacké Thiam Amy Mbacké Thiam (born November 10, 1976) is a Senegalese athlete competing in the 400 metres. Biography She has won medals in two World Championships, but at the 2004 Olympics she was knocked out in the heats. She is best known for winning th ...

(born 1976), Senegalese sprinter * Assane Thiam (born 1948), Senegalese basketball player * Brahim Thiam (born 1974), French and Malian footballer * Chiekh Thiam (born 2001), Italian footballer of Senegalese descent * Demba Thiam (footballer, born 1989), French footballer of Senegalese descent * Demba Thiam (footballer, born 1998) (born 1998), Senegalese footballer in Italy * Djibril Thiam (born 1986), Senegalese basketball player * Ibrahima Thiam (born 1981), Senegalese footballer in Belgium * Khaly Thiam (born 1994), Senegalese footballer in Bulgaria * Mame Baba Thiam (born 1992), Senegalese footballer in Turkey * Mamadou Thiam (born 1995), Senegalese footballer in England * Mamadou Touré Thiam (born 1992), Senegalese footballer in Israel *Mbayang Thiam (born 1982), Senegalese footballer, member of the Senegalese women's national football team * Mohamed Thiam (born 1996), Guinean footballer *

Nafissatou Thiam Nafissatou "Nafi" Thiam (; born 19 August 1994) is a Belgian Sport of athletics, athlete specialising in multi-event competition. She is the first athlete with three multi-event gold medals at the Olympic Games, winning the heptathlon at the At ...

(born 1994), Belgian athlete * Oumoul Thiam (born 1990), Senegalese basketball player * Pablo Thiam (born 1974), Guinean footballer * Serigne Abdou Thiam (1995–2016), Qatari footballer of Senegalese descent

Other people

Akon Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam (born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon (), is a Senegalese-United States, American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist. An influ ...

(Aliaume Damala Badara Akon Thiam; born 1973), American singer and rapper * Abdou Rachid Thiam, Senegalese biophysicist * Aïcha Thiam (born 1979), Belgian film director of Senegalese descent * Jenna Thiam (born 1990), French actress * Iba Der Thiam (born 1937), Senegalese writer and historian * Mor Thiam (born 1941), Senegalese drummer * Thierno Hady Boubacar Thiam (died 2017), Malian Tijaniyyah ulama

Given name

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

varieties of Chinese There are hundreds of local Chinese language varieties forming a branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages, Sino-Tibetan language family, many of which are not Mutual intelligibility, mutually intelligible. Variation is particularly strong in the m ...

, of multiple

Chinese characters Chinese characters are logographs used Written Chinese, to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represe ...

. 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-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...

or various

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

dialects (including

Chaoshan Chaoshan or Teoswa ( zh, s=潮汕, p=Cháoshàn, cy=Chìusaan; peng'im: ) is a cultural-linguistic region in the east of Guangdong, China. It is the origin of the Teochew Min language. The region, also known as Chiushan in Cantonese, consists of ...

). Additionally see * Gan Thiam Poh (; born 1963), Singaporean opposition politician and businessman *

Kwee Thiam Tjing Kwee Thiam Tjing Sia (February 9, 1900 – May 28, 1974), also known by his pen name Tjamboek Bērdoeri Thorn Whip' was a prominent Indonesian writer, journalist and left-wing political activist. He is best remembered for his 1947 book, ' Indon ...

(; 1900–1974), Indonesian writer *

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 * Thio Thiam Tjong (; 1896–1969), Indonesian politician *

Tony Tan Lay Thiam Tony Tan Lay Thiam (; born 1970) is a Singaporean politician and businessman. Not to be confused with Tony Tan the former President of Singapore (2011-2017) and Deputy Prime Minister (1995-2005). Education Tan attended Victoria Junior College b ...

(; 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 circ ...

(; 1913–1989), Indonesian human rights lawyer * Yeow Chai Thiam ( 1953–2016), Malaysian medical doctor and politician

References

{{given name, type=both Surnames of Senegalese origin Surnames of Gambian origin Chinese given names