Chi Family History

The Romanization Chi represents at least thirteen different Chinese surnames and a Korean one. Chinese : this character means ‘pond’ and is found in names of lakes and areas surrounding lakes. As many Chinese surnames originated in place names (often containing the word ‘pond’), so the surname Chi developed naturally from the word for ‘pond’. Chinese : variant of Ji 1. Chinese : variant of Qi 1. Chinese : variant of Qi 2. Chinese : variant of Ji 2. Chinese : variant of Ji 3. Chinese : variant of Qi 3. Chinese : variant of Ji 4. Chinese : variant of Ji 5. Chinese : variant of Ji 6. Chinese : variant of Zhi. Chinese : variant of Ji 7. Chinese : variant of Ji 8. Korean: There are two Chinese characters for the Chi surname, borne by different groups. The smaller of the two groups has only one clan associated with it, the majority of whose members live in Kangw{ou}n and Ch’ungch’{ou}n North Provinces of South Korea and North Korea’s P’y{ou}ngan North Province. The other group also has but one clan but a much larger population. Unlike many clans in Korea, the larger Chi family did not remain congregated in and around its clan seat but dispersed fairly evenly around the peninsula.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press