Chia (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. 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. In Italy, 72 families bore the surname Chia, with more than half located in Sardinia.

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, all spelled Chia in the Wade–Giles romanisation of Mandarin used before the development of pinyin, and still widespread in Taiwan.
* Jiā
* Jiá, which originated as a toponymic surname.
* Jiǎ, 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, 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
*Teochew
Chē, spelled Chia based on its pronunciation in various Southern Min dialects, including:
*Hokkien
*Teochew

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".

Chia Boon Leong, Singaporean footballer
Eric Chia, Malaysian businessman
Nicholas Chia, third Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
Chia Thye Poh, Singaporean political activist imprisoned for 23 years without charge or trial
Mantak Chia, Thai Taoist master
Yvonne Chia, Malaysian banker
Chia Yong Yong, Singaporean lawyer and politician
Steve Chia, Singaporean politician
Danny Chia, Malaysian golfer
Michelle Chia, Singaporean actress
Elvin Chia, Malaysian swimmer
Amber Chia, Malaysian model and actress
Wen Shin Chia, Malaysian environmentalist
Kimberly Chia, Singaporean actress
Aaron Chia, Malaysian badminton player
Nelson Chia, Singaporean television actor and director

People with a non-Chinese surname Chia, or whose names as written in Chinese characters are not available: