Thiam

Thiam
Pronunciation	Wolof: /caːm/; Chinese: /tʰi̯am/;
Language(s)	Fula and Wolof (surname); Chinese (given name);
Origin
Region of origin	Senegal and nearby countries (surname); Chinese communities of Southeast Asia (given name);
Other names
Variant form(s)	Fula and Wolof: Tyam, Chiam, Cham; Chinese: Tiān (Mandarin); Tīm (Cantonese);

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

Surname[edit]

Origins and statistics[edit]

As a surname, Thiam is found among the Fula and Wolof people of Senegal and nearby countries, and originated from a family of goldsmiths.^[1]^[2] In the modern Fula language and Wolof language 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.^[3]^[4] This surname is spelled Thiam in Senegal, and Cham in the Gambia. The surname originated from Toucouleur or Laobe people, and is found among Pulaar language speakers. It is not authentically Wolof, and only made its way to the Wolof through Wolof mixture.^[5]

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.^[6] 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.^[7]

Government officials and politicians[edit]

Awa Thiam (born 1936), Senegalese government official in the Ministry of Women and Children
Amadou Thiam (born 1984), Malian politician
Augustin Thiam (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 (fl. 2000s), Senegalese public health official
Samba Diouldé Thiam, Senegalese legislator and mathematician
Tidjane Thiam (born 1962), Ivorian banker and economic advisor to the Ivorian government

Athletes[edit]

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 (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 (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[edit]

Akon (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[edit]

Thiam can be a romanisation, based on the pronunciation in different varieties of Chinese, of multiple Chinese characters. 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" (添); it can be spelled as Thiam based on its pronunciation in Hakka or various Southern Min dialects (including Chaoshan).^[8]^[9]

Gan Thiam Poh (颜添宝; born 1963), Singaporean opposition politician and businessman
Kwee Thiam Tjing (郭添清; 1900–1974), Indonesian writer
O Thiam Chin (胡添进; born 1977), Singaporean writer
Thio Thiam Tjong (張添聰; 1896–1969), Indonesian politician
Tony Tan Lay Thiam (陈礼添; born 1970), Singaporean People's Action Party politician and businessman
Yap Thiam Hien (葉添興; 1913–1989), Indonesian human rights lawyer
Yeow Chai Thiam (姚再添 1953–2016), Malaysian medical doctor and politician

References[edit]

^ Ezémbé, Ferdinand (2009). L'enfant africain et ses univers. Editions Karthala. p. 132. ISBN 9782811121532.
^ Crane, Louise; Mohraz, Jane E. (1982). African Names: People and Places. African Studies Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. p. 6. OCLC 1086579564.
^ Dilley, Roy (2014). Nearly Native, Barely Civilized: Henri Gaden's Journey through Colonial French West Africa (1894–1939). Brill. p. xvii. ISBN 9789004265288.
^ Hill, Joseph (2018). Wrapping Authority: Women Islamic Leaders in a Sufi Movement in Dakar, Senegal. University of Toronto Press. p. xviii. ISBN 9781487522445.
^ Simpson, Andrew (2008). language and national identity in Africa (paperback ed.). British library: oxford linguistics. pp. 86, 90, 91. ISBN 978-0-19-928675-1.
^ "Fichier des noms". Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques. 22 May 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
^ "How common is your last name?". Newsday. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
^ MacIver, Donald (1904). "85 水". A Hakka index to the Chinese-English dictionary of Herbert A. Giles, and to the Syllabic dictionary of Chinese of S. Wells Williams. Shanghai: American Presbyterian Mission Press. p. 65.
^ Fielde, Adele M. (1883). "添". A pronouncing and defining dictionary of the Swatow dialect, arranged according to syllables and tones. Shanghai: American Presbyterian Mission Press. p. 587. Additionally see "添". mogher.com. Retrieved 15 February 2020.

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[1] Ezémbé, Ferdinand (2009). L'enfant africain et ses univers. Editions Karthala. p. 132. ISBN 9782811121532.

[2] Crane, Louise; Mohraz, Jane E. (1982). African Names: People and Places. African Studies Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. p. 6. OCLC 1086579564.

[3] Dilley, Roy (2014). Nearly Native, Barely Civilized: Henri Gaden's Journey through Colonial French West Africa (1894–1939). Brill. p. xvii. ISBN 9789004265288.

[4] Hill, Joseph (2018). Wrapping Authority: Women Islamic Leaders in a Sufi Movement in Dakar, Senegal. University of Toronto Press. p. xviii. ISBN 9781487522445.

[5] Simpson, Andrew (2008). language and national identity in Africa (paperback ed.). British library: oxford linguistics. pp. 86, 90, 91. ISBN 978-0-19-928675-1.

[6] "Fichier des noms". Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques. 22 May 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2020.

[7] "How common is your last name?". Newsday. Retrieved 5 September 2018.

[8] MacIver, Donald (1904). "85 水". A Hakka index to the Chinese-English dictionary of Herbert A. Giles, and to the Syllabic dictionary of Chinese of S. Wells Williams. Shanghai: American Presbyterian Mission Press. p. 65.

[9] Fielde, Adele M. (1883). "添". A pronouncing and defining dictionary of the Swatow dialect, arranged according to syllables and tones. Shanghai: American Presbyterian Mission Press. p. 587. Additionally see "添". mogher.com. Retrieved 15 February 2020.

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