Shih
A Chinese surname most often representing several different names in romanization, especially forms now written Shi.
The #6,833 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 62,562 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Shih is a romanization used for several Chinese surnames, most commonly the Mandarin surname now written Shi in pinyin. Depending on the character behind it, it can represent different family names with different original meanings and histories. In older romanization systems, especially Wade-Giles, Shih was a standard way to spell Mandarin sounds now usually written with -i in pinyin.
History
The spelling Shih is especially associated with older overseas Chinese romanization, so it often appears in immigrant records and family documents from communities that used Wade-Giles or related systems. Because more than one Chinese surname can be written this way in Latin letters, the English spelling alone does not identify a single lineage. In modern mainland Chinese usage, many families with this spelling would now romanize their name as Shi.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In Chinese surname romanization, one English spelling can hide several different characters, so two families called Shih may not share the same original surname at all.
Notable people named Shih
- Zheng Yi Sao (1775–1844)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.