Seah (surname)

Seah is a surname in various cultures. Its languages of origin include Chinese and Muscogee.

Seah
Pronunciation/sia/, /ɕia/
Language(s)Chinese (Southern Min), Muscogee, others?
Other names
Alternative spelling

Origins

Seah may be a Latin-alphabet spelling of multiple Chinese surnames, based on their pronunciation in various Southern Min dialects, listed in the table below. Southern Min spellings of Chinese surnames are often found in Malaysia and Singapore, where many descendants of Chinese migrants can trace their roots to the Fujian and Guangdong provinces of China where various Southern Min dialects are spoken.[1]

Standard Mandarin Character Hokkien Teochew Notes References
Hanyu Pinyin T S Pe̍h-ōe-jī IPA Peng'im IPA
Chéng 成 Siâⁿ /ɕiã²⁴/ Sian5 /sĩã⁵⁵/ [2][3][4][5]
Shé 佘 Siâ /ɕia/ Sia5 /sia⁵⁵/ [6][7][8]
Xiè 謝 谢 Siā /ɕia³³/ Sia7 /sia¹¹/ Literary pronunciation; the colloquial pronunciation is often spelled Chia [9][10][11]

Seah may also be name in other cultures as well. For example, it was a Muscogee name, more commonly spelled Sioh.[12]

Statistics

The 2010 United States Census found 170 people with the surname Seah, making it the 105,079th-most-common name in the country. This represented an increase from 133 (120,330th-most-common) in the 2000 Census. In both censuses, more than eight-tenths of the bearers of the surname identified as Asian, and roughly one tenth as non-Hispanic White.[13]

People

Chinese surname Xiè (謝)
  • Seah Mong Hee (谢门熙), Singaporean quantity surveyor who became a partner of Langdon & Seah in 1949
  • Seah Kian Peng (谢健平; born 1961), Singaporean politician
  • Jade Seah (谢美玉; born 1983), Singaporean model
  • Stella Seah (谢慧娴; born 1992), Singaporean singer-songwriter

Chinese surname Shé (佘)
  • Seah Eu Chin (佘有進; 1805–1833), Chinese-born Singaporean merchant
  • Seah Tee Heng (佘泰兴; died 1884), Kapitan Cina in Johor, Malaya
  • Seah Leng Chye (佘令财; fl. 1880s), son of Seah Tee Heng
  • Seah Jim Quee (佘任桂; fl. 1890s), businessman in Johor, Malaya
  • Lynnette Seah (佘美幸; born 1957), Singaporean violinist
  • Nicole Seah (佘雪玲; born 1986), Singaporean politician

Other

References
  1. Jones, Russel (August 1959). "Chinese Names: Notes on the use of surnames & personal names by the Chinese in Malaya". Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. 32 (187). JSTOR 41505683.
  2. Hanks, Patrick; Coates, Richard; McClure, Peter, eds. (2016). The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland. Oxford University Press. p. 2447. ISBN 9780192527479.
  3. "成". 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典. 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  4. Medhurst, Walter Henry (1832). A dictionary of the Hok-këèn dialect of the Chinese language, according to the reading and colloquial idioms. East India Company Press. pp. 574.
  5. Fielde, Adele M. (1883). "成". A pronouncing and defining dictionary of the Swatow dialect, arranged according to syllables and tones. Shanghai: American Presbyterian Mission Press. p. 478. Additionally see "成". mogher.com. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  6. "佘". 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典. 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  7. Medhurst 1832, p. 573
  8. Fielde 1883. Additionally see "佘". mogher.com. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  9. "謝". 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典. 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  10. Medhurst 1832, p. 574
  11. Fielde 1883. Additionally see "謝". mogher.com. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  12. Frank, Andrew (2005). Creeks and Southerners: Biculturalism on the Early American Frontier. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 9780803220164.
  13. "How common is your last name?". Newsday. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
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