Kiang

A romanization of various Mandarin words rendered jiāng, jiáng, jiǎng, or jiàng in pinyin and particularly used for Chinese 江 (Jiāng, “The River”), frequently used in Chinese in specific reference to the Yangtze.

• IPA^(key): /kjɑŋ/, /kjæŋ/, /kiˈɑŋ/, /kiˈæŋ/

Kiang

1. Obsolete form of Jiang.
2. (obsolete) Synonym of Yangtze, the chief river of central China.
   • 1888, J. F. C. Hecker, “Causes.-Spread.”, in B. G. Babington, transl., The Black Death and the Dancing Mania‎, →OCLC, page 24:

     The series of these great events began in the year 1333, fifteen years before the plague broke out in Europe: they first appeared in China. Here a parching drought, accompanied by famine, commenced in the tract of country watered by the rivers Kiang and Hoai.

Variant of Jiang.

Kiang (plural Kiangs)

1. A surname from Chinese.

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Kiang is the 41799^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 520 individuals. Kiang is most common among Asian/Pacific Islander (86.54%) individuals.

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Kiang”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 2, New York City: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 299.