# 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 (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 (家; IPA: /t͡ɕia⁵⁵/)
** Jiá (郟; IPA: /t͡ɕia³⁵/), which originated as a toponymic surname.
** Jiǎ (賈; IPA: /t͡ɕia²¹⁴/), which also originated as a toponymic surname referring to the State of Jia [zh], 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 (甲; IPA: /t͡ɕia²¹⁴/), which originated as a shortening of an ancient toponymic surname Jiǎfù (甲父).
* Xiè (謝), spelled Chia based on its pronunciation in various Southern Min dialects, including:
** Hokkien (Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chiā; IPA: /t͡ɕia³³/)
** Teochew (Peng'im: Zia$^7$; IPA: /t͡sia¹¹/)
* Chē (車), spelled Chia based on its pronunciation in various Southern Min dialects, including:
** Hokkien (POJ: Chhia, IPA: /t͡ɕʰia⁴⁴/)
** Teochew (Peng'im: Cia$^1$; IPA: /t͡sʰia³³/)
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 (谢文龙; 1925–2022), Singaporean footballer
* Eric Chia (谢英福; 1930s–2008), Malaysian businessman
* Nicholas Chia (谢益裕; born 1938), third Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
* Chia Thye Poh (谢太宝; born 1941), Singaporean political activist imprisoned for 23 years without charge or trial
* Mantak Chia (謝明德; born 1944), Thai Taoist master
* Yvonne Chia (谢姚依雯; born c. 1953), Malaysian banker
* Chia Yong Yong (谢邕邕; born 1962), Singaporean lawyer and politician
* Steve Chia (谢镜丰; born 1970), Singaporean politician
* Danny Chia (谢志荣; born 1972), Malaysian golfer
* Michelle Chia (谢韵仪; born 1975), Singaporean actress
* Elvin Chia (谢俊道; born 1977), Malaysian swimmer
* Amber Chia (谢丽萍; born 1981), Malaysian model and actress
* Wen Shin Chia (谢雯欣; born c. 1991), Malaysian environmentalist
* Kimberly Chia (谢静仪; born 1995), Singaporean actress
* Aaron Chia (谢定峰; born 1997), Malaysian badminton player
* Nelson Chia (谢燊杰), Singaporean television actor and director

## Chinese surname 賈

* Chia Ching-teh (賈景德; 1880–1960), Republic of China politician
* Chia Lien-chen (賈連仁; 1912–?), Chinese middle-distance runner
* Pei-yuan Chia (賈培源; born 1939), Hong Kong-born American banker
* Alyssa Chia (賈靜雯; born 1974), Taiwanese actress
* Chih-Ta Chia (賈至達), Taiwanese physicist
* Wenlan Chia (賈雯蘭), 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 (fl. 1948), 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