Xie commonly represents the Chinese surname 謝, written 谢 in simplified characters, with a traditional origin in an ancient place name. The Latin spelling can also represent distinct surnames, including 解 and 頡. Establishing the character is therefore the first step in choosing the right history. Compare the explanations in the Oxford surname dictionary's Xie entry.
What Does 謝 Mean?
The Mandarin pronunciation is Xiè, with a fourth, falling tone. Taiwan's Ministry of Education lists several ordinary senses of 謝: expressing gratitude, declining, apologizing, taking leave, and withering. It lists surname use separately. “To thank” is a useful vocabulary gloss, but it does not establish that an ancestor acquired the name for being grateful. Ministry of Education, entry 謝.
Traditional 謝 and simplified 谢 are written forms of the same character. A change between them in a transcription is different from a change of surname. Preserve the form on the original document, then add the other form as a search aid; this keeps the record's wording distinguishable from your own normalization.
From a Place Name to a Family Name
The Dictionary of American Family Names links 謝 to an ancient state, tentatively located near Nanyang in Henan. It describes a probable later grant to Shen Bo, an uncle of King Xuan of Zhou, and adoption of the place name as a surname following annexation in the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). Its qualifications about location and the grant matter: this is a received origin account, not a securely dated first family record. Hanks, ed., Xie entry.
There is also a separate adoption account: the dictionary records the Northern Qi official Xie Xiaozheng replacing Zhi-Le (直勒) with 謝 during the dynasty of 550–577 AD. Same dictionary entry, explanation 1(ii).
These accounts describe different ways of acquiring a family name. Neither supplies a continuous pedigree for a present-day reader. Establishing inherited use in your own line requires records connecting parents and children, not just an ancient occurrence of the word or a person with the same surname.
Historical Lineages Are Not One Universal Pedigree
The Ministry of Education's Dictionary of Chinese Character Variants illustrates surname use with Xie Lingyun of the Southern Dynasties' Liu Song period. It also cites the historical rhyme dictionary Guangyun, which associates 謝 with two prominent lineage centers, Chen Commandery and Kuaiji. These references are useful evidence of historical surname use and named lineage traditions. They are not a census of all Xie families. Entry A03877, sense 9.
If a family genealogy invokes one of these centers, record exactly where the claim appears and when that genealogy was compiled. A prestigious origin statement in a preface and a sequence of identifiable local generations carry different evidential weight. Work backward from the latter before attempting to connect your household to an older lineage.
When Xie Represents Another Character
解 is a separate surname, also pronounced Xiè. The Ministry of Education distinguishes that surname reading from the character's other pronunciations, jiě and jiè. Consequently, a general-purpose translation of 解 as “explain” or “untie” can mislead a surname search. Ministry of Education, 解, reading three.
The Oxford dictionary gives 解 its own place-name traditions, including a fief in Shanxi. It also treats 頡 separately under Xie. These are not simplified forms of 謝. Xie entry, explanations 2–3.
An English-only certificate may leave this distinction unresolved. In that situation, record the surname as Xie and leave the character uncertain until a signature, Chinese-language certificate, gravestone, or family document supplies it. The spelling alone cannot establish a person's ethnicity, ancestral province, or relationship to another Xie.
Hsieh and Tse: Useful Search Forms with Limits
The Oxford dictionary explicitly identifies Hsieh as a variant of Xie. It identifies Tse as a Cantonese form of 謝, but also records Tse for 朱. Thus a Tse record can be relevant to a 謝 family without every Tse belonging under Xie. Dictionary entries Hsieh and Tse.
The separate Zhu entry helps explain the latter character. Chen offers another example of why Chinese surnames need character-based comparison; it is not a variant of Xie. These related reading links concern naming patterns, not shared ancestry.
For an individual family, connect spellings through matching relatives, dates, addresses, and original characters. Keep the spelling actually used on each record rather than replacing every Hsieh or Tse with Xie. Our guide to Chinese dialects and romanization systems explains the broader problem, alongside the East Asian surname guide.
Researching Your Xie Family
Begin with the most recent securely identified relative and build a record of names and places before searching ancient pedigrees:
1. Recover the character and full personal name. Photograph inscriptions and retain images of signatures. Mark a proposed reading as tentative if the handwriting is unclear. Distinguish 謝/谢 from 解 before expanding the search. 2. Identify the ancestral village. Ask relatives for the place in Chinese, including county and province, and distinguish ancestral home from birthplace or last residence. A province-wide search for a shared surname is much less selective than a village and household match. 3. Search for a relevant jiapu. FamilySearch describes these as multigenerational clan genealogies. Its search guidance uses locality, surname, ancestral hall, honored ancestor, and generation-poem information. A matching surname is a starting filter, not a match to your family. FamilySearch's jiapu search instructions. 4. Verify the connection into the genealogy. Compare the known relative's parents, spouse, siblings, dates, and village with the genealogy's actual entries. Note the compilation date and page or image number. A missing generation remains a gap even if the lineage preface names a famous ancestor. 5. Use migration files to test spelling changes. For a family with a U.S. migration history, the National Archives' Chinese immigration guide describes case files containing interrogations and family or community details. Search documented aliases and relevant Hsieh or Tse forms as well as Xie. These records arose under exclusion laws; evaluate statements and discrepancies in that context. National Archives research guide.
FamilySearch notes that access to some Chinese family records is suspended during review; a catalog result does not guarantee viewable images. Keep a citation to the genealogy even when access is unavailable. Use the surname evidence checklist to separate what each document establishes from what still needs testing.
References
- Patrick Hanks, ed. Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition. Oxford University Press, 2022. Entries Xie, Hsieh, and Tse, reproduced by Ancestry.
- Ministry of Education, Taiwan. Learning Program for Stroke Order of Frequently Used Chinese Characters, 2025 website edition, advanced-learning entries 謝 and 解.
- Ministry of Education, Taiwan. Dictionary of Chinese Character Variants, 2024 edition, 謝, A03877, especially sense 9 and its citation of Guangyun.
- FamilySearch. “How do I find a Chinese jiapu on FamilySearch?”. Online help article, accessed September 8, 2026.
- U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. “Chinese Immigration and the Chinese in the United States”. Online research guide, accessed September 8, 2026.