In this post, we will go over how Vietnamese names are written, common Vietnamese last names and meanings of Vietnamese names.
We will not discuss how to ask for someone’s name or how to introduce yourself here as it was already discussed in a different post.
Name in Vietnamese is tên. Family name is called họ in Vietnamese.
How to write Vietnamese names
Vietnamese names are usually written in the order of family name (last name) first then given name (first name).
| FAMILY NAME + MIDDLE NAME + GIVEN NAME |
For example, look at the name below.
Nguyễn Huệ
Applying to the rule, Nguyễn is the family name (last name) and Huệ is the given name (first name).
Fact: Nguyễn Huệ is the name of a notable emperor in the history of Vietnam. A popular bookstore (Nhà sách Nguyễn Huệ) and a big street (đường Nguyễn Huệ) in Ho Chi Minh City are named after him. This street had an area in the middle that was often blocked for pedestrians and display of art made by flowers during Vietnamese New Year celebration, known as “đường hoa Nguyễn Huệ,” meaning “Flower street Nguyen Hue.” It is now made into a walking street, called “Phố đi bộ Nguyễn Huệ.”
In English, the name would be written as “Hue Nguyen” with given name first and family name last. The marks are also often omitted.
In Vietnamese, without marks, it is hard to tell the exact pronunciation of a word. With the same writing but different marks, the words are pronounced differently.
For example, we pronounce Huế, Huề and Huệ differently, even though, without marks, they’re all made of the same three letters “Hue.”
Another example is “Nhan.” When written in English, there’s no mark so it is hard for Vietnamese people to tell what the actual name is in Vietnamese. Nhan could be Nhân, Nhẫn, Nhàn, etc.
Learn more about Vietnamese accent marks here.
Common Vietnamese last names
Below are the most common Vietnamese last names you may see in Vietnam.
Nguyễn
Trần
Phạm
Phan
Lê
Bùi
Đỗ
Võ
Huỳnh
Đặng
Hoàng
Do Vietnamese last names have any meanings?
Vietnamese family names typically do not have any meanings. But given names and middle names often have meanings.
Meanings of Vietnamese names
Hán Việt vs thuần Việt
Before we talk about the meanings of names, it’s important to know about thuần Việt and Hán Việt. The writing of both types of words is based on the same Vietnamese alphabet and accent marks.
Thuần Việt means pure Vietnamese. Words that are thuần Việt originated from Vietnam.
Hán Việt refers to words that originated from China and have been adopted into Vietnamese language.
Two different words can mean the same thing but are used differently.
For example, water is both nước (thuần Việt) and thủy (Hán Việt) in Vietnamese. But when we just want to refer to water as a stand alone word in daily conversation, we use nước instead of thủy. For example, we say “tôi uống nước” (I drink water), but we never say “tôi uống thủy.” However, in a compound word, the word thủy is often used to create a different meaning, such as “thủy triều,” which means tide (thủy means water, triều means the water level).
You may be confused as to when you should use thuần Việt words and when to use Hán Việt words. However, we will not go into details here in this post.
For the purpose of this post, we just need to know that many Vietnamese given names and middle names are Hán Việt. There are still names that are thuần Việt, though you may find most Vietnamese parents opt for Hán Việt names as their meanings are more subtle and better sounding.
Meanings of names
The fastest way to know the meaning of someone’s name is to ask them. While there are common names made of Hán Việt words that we can learn, it is not practical to learn them all. Meanings of names made of Hán Việt words are not something you will use in every day conversation.
Below is a list of some common names with meanings. It is not an inclusive list. You may find names that are not in the list or meanings beyond those listed here.
| Tên Hán Việt | Meaning |
| An | peaceful, safe |
| Anh | smart, the most quintessential part of something |
| Ân | favor |
| Bách | hundred, a lot |
| Bảo | precious, treasure |
| Bích | bluish green |
| Công | fair |
| Cường | strong |
| Diệp | leaf |
| Dung | appearance, tolerate |
| Dũng | brave |
| Duy | preserve |
| Đăng | lamp, to be crowned (e.g. Đăng Quang) |
| Đạt | reach, attain |
| Đức | virtue |
| Gia | family |
| Giang | river |
| Hạ | summer |
| Hải | sea, ocean |
| Hằng | moon |
| Hạnh | conduct |
| Hảo | good, beautiful |
| Hiền | gentle, virtuous |
| Hiệp | chivalrous |
| Hiếu | filial, dutiful to parents |
| Hoàng | emperor |
| Hùng | brave, outstanding, superman-like |
| Hưng | prosperious |
| Huy | shine |
| Khang | healthy, peaceful, prosperous |
| Khánh | joy |
| Kim | gold ( wealthy) |
| Lam | deep blue |
| Lâm | forest |
| Linh | nimble |
| Lộc | auspicious |
| Long | dragon |
| Minh | bright, smart |
| Mỹ | beautiful |
| Nam | the South |
| Nghĩa | will to do good |
| Ngọc | gem |
| Nguyên | meadow |
| Nhàn | leisure, idle |
| Nhân | man, person, human |
| Nhất | number one, first |
| Nhật | the sun |
| Phong | wind |
| Phúc | happiness |
| Quân | army |
| Quang | bright, radiant |
| Quốc | country |
| Quý | luxurious, prescious |
| Sơn | mountain |
| Tài | talent, talented |
| Thái | peaceful |
| Thắng | victorious |
| Thanh | green |
| Thành | stronghold, steadfast |
| Thảo | grass, herbs |
| Thiên | sky |
| Thiện | kind |
| Thịnh | full, thriving, prosperous |
| Thuận | smooth, favorable |
| Thúy | blue |
| Thủy | water |
| Tiến | advance, improve |
| Trang | jewelry, precious |
| Trí | wisdom |
| Trinh | pure, untarnished |
| Trung | faithful, loyal |
| Tuấn | handsome, talented |
| Tùng | Cedrus tree |
| Tuyền | fine jade |
| Vinh | honor and wealth |
More meanings
If you are interested in learning more about Hán Việt, you can take a look at this Hán Việt dictionary. It looks like this website collects information from different dictionaries. It can be confusing if you don’t already know Vietnamese.
Hán Việt words are introduced briefly in schools but they are not focused on. You usually learn them when you see them. You may find Hán Việt used more frequently in old poems, stories and writings.
Unless it’s for Hán Việt words like “thủy triều,” which does not have other equivalents, you do not need to know many Hán Việt words to make daily conversation with Vietnamese people. People usually learn Hán Việt as they encounter them. For example, students may learn the word “thủy triều” in science or geography class.