Vietnamese names and surnames for men. Vietnamese name
In Vietnamese, the meanings of female names are beautiful and poetic. Vietnamese female names can be classified according to the meaning of the meanings.
First of all, this flower names. The simplest version of Hoa (flower).
It has long been customary for the Vietnamese to give their daughters names of various colors: Hong (rose), Kuk (chrysanthemum), Lan (orchid), Li (lily), Kuyin (fragrant flower of the night). There are also names with a meaning close to the flower theme in the Vietnamese language: Huong (aroma), Ziep (leaves), Lieu (willow).
The moon in the east is considered a symbol of femininity and beauty. And as a result, in the Vietnamese language there are several female names at once with a gentle poetic meaning"Moon": Chang, Hang and Nguet. Moreover, the word Chang in modern Vietnamese is called heavenly body, which is visible at night through the window. While the other two names of the moon are found not in astronomy, but in ancient poetry and fine literature.
In Vietnamese society, girls were often called by the names of the traditional female virtues of Confucian culture: Hien (kind), Chin (chaste), Dung (patient). Previously, this list also included the name Kong (hard-working). However, in last years it is quite unpopular. The name Mi (beautiful) is much more common.
In a Vietnamese traditional family, sons are valued more than daughters. It is to the son that the sacred duty of performing rituals is transferred to. The absence of a male heir is perceived by the Vietnamese as a tragedy: who will send and make offerings to all generations of the family?
However, many Vietnamese families consider their daughters jewels and give the girls the appropriate names: Ngoc (pearl, jasper), Kim (gold) and Ngan (silver). The sum of the above forms the female names Kim Ngan (gold + silver) and Kim Ngoc (gold + pearls).
The Vietnamese understand that it is rare for a foreigner to remember and pronounce a Vietnamese name correctly. Therefore, many choose an additional name for themselves, for business communication and communication with foreigners. This name is printed on business cards instead of or in addition to the Vietnamese name: Jenny Kim, Monica Nguyen, Vanessa Chan, Cecilia Ho, Veronica Ngo.
Choice foreign name due to social circle. So, among the Vietnamese who studied in the USSR and Russia, many proudly call themselves Fedya, Ivan, Misha, Katya, Sveta, Natasha. The choice of name is based on different motivations. Usually choose a name with similar meaning(Vinh = Glory) or beginning with the same letter as a Vietnamese name (Huong = Helen).
However, the most decisive factor: the name should be pleasant and beautiful to sound. This is what determines the choice of an additional foreign name by the Vietnamese.
Where do Vietnamese names come from?
After the birth of a child, dad throws a pan on the floor in the kitchen.
As it thundered, they called it - Bam Van Dong, Khan Long Gong ..... (a famous Vietnamese joke)
Vietnamese names consist of three parts: the family name (analogous to our surname), the middle name and the last, individual or given at birth. For example: Lã Xuân Thắng. Lã is the family name, Xuân is the middle name, Thắng is the last one.
Names are of great importance in Vietnam. Many Vietnamese have secret names known only to themselves and their parents. There is a belief that spoken aloud, this name gives power to evil spirits over its bearer. Therefore, in public places, children are often called in order of birth, for example Ti-hai / Chị Hai, Ti-ba / Chị Ba (Second daughter, Third daughter), etc.
There are only 300 surnames in Vietnam and almost half of the country's population has the surname Nguyen. The middle part of the name is usually the same for all children in the family. The names of women after the surname are supplemented by the fourth part - "-thi".
Usually, Vietnamese people have several names throughout their lives. So in the villages, many Vietnamese do not give small children beautiful names(Rat/Chuột, Puppy/Cún, etc.). This is done because of the superstition that the gods will not want to take a child with an ugly name or harm him. Therefore, it is believed that the “simpler” a child’s name is, the easier it is to raise him. Subsequently, many villagers come to work in the city and choose new, beautiful, names, usually with a literal meaning in the Vietnamese language. For women, names often represent beauty, like the names of birds or flowers. The names of men, on the other hand, reflect the desired attributes and characteristics that parents want to see in their children, such as morality or calmness.
Male names | |
| Bao - "protection" (Bảo) Binh - "peace" (Bình) Van - "cloud" (Vân) Vien - "completion" (Viên) Ding - "top" (Định) Duc - "desire" (Đức) Zung - "brave, heroic" (Dũng) Duong - "courage" (Dương) Kuan - "soldier" (Quân) Kuang - "clear, pure" (Quang) Kui - "precious" (Quí) Min - "bright" (Minh) Nguyen - "beginning" (Nguyên) Tea - "oyster" (Trai) Tu - "star" (Tú) Tuan - "bright" (Tuấn) Thanh - "bright, clear, blue" (Thanh) Thuan - "tamed" ( Thuận) Xoan - "spring" (Hòan) Hung - "brave, heroic" (Hùng) Tin - "faith" or "trust" (Tín) | Beat - "jade" (Bích) Kim - "golden" (Kim) Kuen - "bird" (Quyên) Kui - "precious" (Quí) Lien - "lotus" (Liên) Lin - "spring" (Linh) May - "flower" (Mai) Ngok - " gem” or “jade” (Ngọc) Nguyet - “moon” (Nguyệt) Nyung - “velvet” (Nhung) Phuong - “phoenix” (Phượng) Tien - “fairy, spirit” (Tiên) Tu - “star” (Tú) Tuen - "beam" (Tuyến) Tuet - " White snow” (Tuyết) Thanh - “bright, clear, blue” (Thanh) Tkhai - “friendly, loyal” (Thái) Thi - “poem” (Thi) Thu - “autumn” (Thu) Hoa - “flower” (Hoa) Hong - "rose" (Hồng) Xoan - "spring" (Hòan) Huong - "pink" (Hường) Chau - "pearl" (Châu) Ti - "tree branch" (Chi) |
Vietnam has a very developed "religion" of the cult of ancestors, so after death a person acquires a sacred name for worship, for example: Cụ đồ“, ‛Cụ Tam Nguyên Yên Đổ“, “Ông Trạng Trình (grandfather / old man ..). This name is recorded in the family annals and is considered the main name.
The Vietnamese have few surnames - much less than Europeans, and they do not mean anything.
A child is born, he is given his father's surname. His birth certificate usually contains three words. The first word is his surname, the last is his given name, and the second is the so-called "utility name". For example: Nguyen Van An. I want to stop here on this auxiliary name "Van" and tell a little about it. In general, auxiliary names are optional, you can do without them. So if later a person does not like the combination of Nguyen Van An, which his parents gave him, he can refuse it and take another, for example, Nguyen Minh An, Nguyen Xuan An and so on, or completely abandon the auxiliary name, become simply Nguyen An. And women have an auxiliary name "Thi": Tran Thi Tuet, Pham Thi Hong, Nguyen Thi Binh, Le Thi Xuan Nga ...
The number of Vietnamese surnames is very limited, but the names are extremely diverse. The fact is that we do not have “sustainable”, “permanent” names, like, for example, Russian Sasha, Seryozha, Natasha, Lyuba. Usually each name means something. There are names that have an independent meaning: Tien - lemon, Man - plum ... And very often the names come in pairs. So do not be surprised if your question to a Vietnamese girl named Hau, what does her name mean, she will answer: “My name and the name of my older sister Huang together means“ queen ”- Huang-Hau, and with the name of the younger brother Phuong - "rear": Hau Phuong.
If the family is large, then the names of the children can make up a whole phrase. For example, children with names grow up in a family: Viet, Nam, Anh, Hung, Tien, Kong, Vi, Dai. And together we get the phrase: “Heroic Vietnam will win great victory". The first child in the family is often given the name Ka - "eldest", and the last Ut - "the youngest". Women's names usually denote something delicate and beautiful: Dao - "peach flower", Lua - "silk", Ngok - "pearl".
Giving children such names as Rice, Water, Home, Field, people dreamed that they would always have rice, a home and that their life would become better.
The entire history of the Vietnamese people is reflected in the system of their names. Before the August Revolution of 1945, the peasants were in bondage to the landowners. Sometimes landowners took upon themselves the right to give peasant children names. And to emphasize the difference between poor children and their own, they gave them ugly, humiliating names. Yes, and many superstitious peasants, wishing that their children would not get sick with anything, did not dare to choose beautiful names for them, but gave them only such as Et (Frog), Zyun (Worm), Theo (Scar) ... They believed that What evil spirits will not pay attention to children with such names and leave them alone.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Complete Vietnamese name usually consists of three (rarely four) parts: father's surname(rarely mother's surnames), middle name or "nicknames" and own name . In accordance with the East Asian system of personal names, in Vietnam, the full name is traditionally built in the above order (as in the Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, etc.). It is not customary for the Vietnamese to use and write one surname without a name. The first name without the last name is used very often. (see explanation below).
When translating a full Vietnamese name into Russian, it is necessary to write each part separately and with capital letter For example, Pham Van Dong(as opposed to translating Chinese name, when the middle and last name can merge into one word, for example, Mao Zedong) and stick to general rules transcription.
However, it should be noted that in practice the official transcription rules are not always observed.
Surname
The first part of the full name is the father's surname.
The surname is located at the beginning of the full name, it is passed from father to children. It is estimated that there are about a hundred surnames in common use, although some are used much more frequently than others.
Vietnamese surnames traditionally coincide with the surnames of the ruling dynasties. That is, during the reign of the Li dynasty, this surname gained the greatest popularity. It is logical that at present, about 40% of the Vietnamese have the surname "Nguyen" from the last imperial dynasty of Vietnam.
Below is a list of the 14 most common surnames in Vietnam. Together they make up 90% of Vietnamese surnames. Surnames are given with their Chinese equivalents and the number of speakers as a percentage:
- Nguyen - Nguyễn 阮 (38.4%)
- Le - Lê 黎 (9.5%)
- Fam - Phạm 范 (7.1%)
- Huynh/Hoang - Huỳnh/Hoàng 黃 (5.1 %)
- Fan - Phan 潘 (4.5%)
- Wu / Vo - Vũ/Võ 武 (3.9%)
- Dang - Đặng 鄧 (2.1 %)
- Bui - Bùi 裴 (2%)
- Do - Đỗ杜 (1.4%)
- Ngo - Ngô 吳 (1.3%)
- Duong - Dương 楊 (1%)
- Li - Lý 李 (0.5%)
Among the remaining 10% of the surnames, there are those that belong to the Chinese, and those that belong to the rest of the small peoples living in Vietnam. However Chinese surnames are usually inherited distant ancestor and are now no longer recognized as alien.
Some of the other surnames:
Due to the fact that most Vietnamese have the same surnames, it is not customary for the Vietnamese to use and write one surname without a name.
Name
middle name
The middle name (tên đệm or tên lót) is chosen by the parents from a rather narrow circle. In the past, the middle name indicated the sex of the child: all women had a middle name Thị(Thi). There were many middle names for men, by the 20th century the following became the most common: Van(Wan) Việt(Viet), Đan(Dan), Đinh(Ding) ức(Duc) Duy(Zooey) Minh(ming), Ngọc(Ngoc), Sĩ(Shi) Xuan(Xuan) Phu(Ugh), Hữu(Huu). Currently, the main function of both male and female middle names is to show belonging to the same generation in the family (brothers and sisters have one middle name that is different from previous and subsequent generations).
personal name
This name is the main form of address among the Vietnamese. The names are chosen by the parents and usually have a literal meaning in Vietnamese. For women, names often represent beauty, like the names of birds or flowers. Men's names often reflect desirable attributes and characteristics that parents want their children to have, such as morality.
There are "sets" of names that reflect, for example, four feminine virtues: Kong (Vietnamese Kong, skillful, well-functioning), Dung (Vietnamese Dung, beautiful), Han (Vietnamese Hạnh well-behaved), Ngon (Vietnamese Ngon, polite); four mythical creatures: Lee (Vietnamese Ly, qilin), Kui (Vietnamese Qui, turtle), Phuong (Vietnamese Phượng, phoenix), Long (Vietnamese Long, the Dragon).
Full name in four parts
Sometimes after the surname of the father, the child is given the surname of the mother. Then his full name consists of four parts.
There are also situations where the middle or proper name can be double. Then we get a four-part name, for example Nguyễn Thị Trà My, where Nguyễn (Nguyễn) is a family name, Thi (Thị) is a middle name, and Cha Mi (Trà My) is a personal name meaning " camellia".
The use of the name in spelling and address
Due to the fact that most Vietnamese have the same surnames, it is not customary for the Vietnamese to use and write one surname without a name. The name without a surname is used very often and, as a rule, in this case the surname Nguyen is implied, although there are other options.
As a rule, the Vietnamese refer to each other by personal names, even in formal situations, although the honorifics "master", "madam" and others are also used when necessary. This contrasts with the situation in many other cultures where the family name is used in formal situations.
Defining Parts of a Full Name
Determining which part of a Vietnamese full name is a surname and which is a middle or personal name is often very difficult.
First, some words, such as Van (Văn) can be used both as a surname (Van Tien Dung), and as a middle or personal name(Nguyen Van Cao).
Secondly, a significant part of the Vietnamese currently live outside of Vietnam. Their names are subject to changes in the form of discarding surnames and rearranging parts of the full name in reverse, in a Western manner. Sometimes, instead of a Vietnamese surname, a European version of the name is added. Eg, famous actor Vietnamese-born Nguyen Tian Ming Chi is known worldwide as Johnny Nguyen, and his co-star Ngo Thanh Van is known as Veronica Ngo.
To understand such names, you need to remember the list of the most common Vietnamese surnames and names, and in all doubtful cases, look at the names of both parents or relatives living in Vietnam, whose full names were not distorted.
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An excerpt characterizing a Vietnamese name
IN Lately During her stay in Voronezh, Princess Marya experienced the best happiness in her life. Her love for Rostov no longer tormented her, did not excite her. This love filled her whole soul, became an indivisible part of herself, and she no longer fought against it. Of late, Princess Marya became convinced—although she never said this clearly to herself in words—she was convinced that she was loved and loved. She was convinced of this during her last meeting with Nikolai, when he came to her to announce that her brother was with the Rostovs. Nikolai did not hint in a single word that now (in the event of the recovery of Prince Andrei) the former relations between him and Natasha could be resumed, but Princess Marya saw from his face that he knew and thought this. And, despite the fact that his attitude towards her - cautious, tender and loving - not only did not change, but he seemed to be glad that now the relationship between him and Princess Marya allowed him to more freely express his friendship to her, love, as she sometimes thought Princess Mary. Princess Mary knew that she loved at first and last time in life, and felt that she was loved, and was happy, calm in this respect.But this happiness of one side of her soul not only did not prevent her from feeling grief for her brother with all her might, but, on the contrary, it peace of mind in one respect gave her a great opportunity to give herself completely to her feelings for her brother. This feeling was so strong in the first minute of leaving Voronezh that those who saw her off were sure, looking at her exhausted, desperate face, that she would certainly fall ill on the way; but it was precisely the difficulties and worries of the journey, which Princess Marya undertook with such activity, saved her for a while from her grief and gave her strength.
As always happens during a trip, Princess Marya thought about only one trip, forgetting what was his goal. But, approaching Yaroslavl, when something that could lie ahead of her again opened up, and not many days later, but this evening, Princess Mary's excitement reached its extreme limits.
When a haiduk sent ahead to find out in Yaroslavl where the Rostovs were and in what position Prince Andrei was, he met a large carriage driving in at the outpost, he was horrified to see the terribly pale face of the princess, which stuck out to him from the window.
- I found out everything, Your Excellency: the Rostov people are standing on the square, in the house of the merchant Bronnikov. Not far, above the Volga itself, - said the haiduk.
Princess Mary looked frightened and inquiringly at his face, not understanding what he was saying to her, not understanding why he did not answer main question: what brother? M lle Bourienne made this question for Princess Mary.
- What is the prince? she asked.
“Their excellencies are in the same house with them.
“So he is alive,” thought the princess, and quietly asked: what is he?
“People said they were all in the same position.
What did "everything in the same position" mean, the princess did not ask, and only briefly, glancing imperceptibly at the seven-year-old Nikolushka, who was sitting in front of her and rejoicing at the city, lowered her head and did not raise it until the heavy carriage, rattling, shaking and swaying, did not stop somewhere. The folding footboards rattled.
The doors opened. On the left was water - a big river, on the right was a porch; there were people on the porch, servants, and some sort of ruddy-faced girl with a big black plait, who smiled unpleasantly feignedly, as it seemed to Princess Marya (it was Sonya). The princess ran up the stairs, the smiling girl said: “Here, here!” - and the princess found herself in the hall in front of an old woman with an oriental type of face, who, with a touched expression, quickly walked towards her. It was the Countess. She embraced Princess Mary and began to kiss her.
- Mon enfant! she said, je vous aime et vous connais depuis longtemps. [My child! I love you and have known you for a long time.]
Despite all her excitement, Princess Marya realized that it was the countess and that she had to say something. She, not knowing how herself, uttered some kind of courteous French words, in the same tone as those who spoke to her, and asked: what is he?
“The doctor says there is no danger,” said the countess, but while she was saying this, she raised her eyes with a sigh, and in this gesture there was an expression that contradicted her words.
- Where is he? Can you see him, can you? the princess asked.
- Now, princess, now, my friend. Is this his son? she said, turning to Nikolushka, who was entering with Desalle. We can all fit, the house is big. Oh what a lovely boy!
The countess led the princess into the drawing room. Sonya was talking to m lle Bourienne. The countess caressed the boy. The old count entered the room, greeting the princess. The old count has changed tremendously since the princess last saw him. Then he was a lively, cheerful, self-confident old man, now he seemed a miserable, lost person. He, speaking with the princess, constantly looked around, as if asking everyone whether he was doing what was necessary. After the ruin of Moscow and his estate, knocked out of his usual rut, he apparently lost consciousness of his significance and felt that he no longer had a place in life.
Despite the excitement in which she was, despite one desire to see her brother as soon as possible and annoyance because at that moment, when she only wants to see him, she is occupied and pretended to praise her nephew, the princess noticed everything that was going on around her, and felt the need for a time to submit to this new order into which she was entering. She knew that all this was necessary, and it was difficult for her, but she did not get annoyed with them.
“This is my niece,” said the count, introducing Sonya, “do you not know her, princess?”
The princess turned to her and, trying to extinguish the hostile feeling for this girl that had risen in her soul, kissed her. But it became difficult for her because the mood of everyone around her was so far from what was in her soul.
- Where is he? she asked again, addressing everyone.
“He’s downstairs, Natasha is with him,” answered Sonya, blushing. - Let's go find out. I think you are tired, princess?
The princess had tears of annoyance in her eyes. She turned away and wanted to ask the countess again where to go to him, when light, swift, as if cheerful steps were heard at the door. The princess looked round and saw Natasha almost running in, the same Natasha whom she did not like so much on that old meeting in Moscow.
But before the princess had time to look at the face of this Natasha, she realized that this was her sincere comrade in grief, and therefore her friend. She rushed to meet her and, embracing her, wept on her shoulder.
As soon as Natasha, who was sitting at the head of Prince Andrei, found out about the arrival of Princess Marya, she quietly left his room with those quick, as it seemed to Princess Marya, as if with cheerful steps, and ran to her.
On her excited face, when she ran into the room, there was only one expression - an expression of love, boundless love for him, for her, for everything that was close to a loved one, an expression of pity, suffering for others and a passionate desire to give herself all for in order to help them. It was evident that at that moment not a single thought about herself, about her relationship to him, was in Natasha's soul.
The sensitive Princess Marya, at the first glance at Natasha's face, understood all this and wept on her shoulder with sorrowful pleasure.
“Come on, let’s go to him, Marie,” Natasha said, taking her to another room.
Princess Mary raised her face, wiped her eyes, and turned to Natasha. She felt that she would understand and learn everything from her.
“What…” she began to question, but suddenly stopped. She felt that words could neither ask nor answer. Natasha's face and eyes should have said everything more clearly and deeply.
A Vietnamese name usually consists of three elements: a family name, a middle name, and a proper name. For example: Ho Chi Minh.
The most common surnames in Vietnam are: Nguyen, Tran, Le, Li, Ho, Pham, Vo. A common joke is that in Vietnam 50% of the population have the surname Nguyen, 40% - Tran, and the remaining 10% are all other surnames, this somewhat rounds off the official figures, however, in general, it is true.
A middle name can have a special meaning and be passed down from generation to generation. Some middle names occur only in the structure of a male name, such as Wang or Duc, which makes it possible to clearly distinguish between male and female names.
A proper name is the last element in the structure of a Vietnamese name. This is the name given to the person. Unlike surnames, there are a lot of proper names in Vietnam. Some names can be worn by both men and women, for example: Han (happiness), Hoa (peace), Thuy (water), Xuan (spring), Ha (summer), Thu (autumn).
Male names characterize the virtues of a noble husband: Zung (brave), Hung (courageous), Wuy (cheerful), Ngia (fair), Chung (faithful), Binh (calm), Duc virtuous), Cuong (strong). Out of love for home country parents often name their children national names Viet (Vietnamese) and Nam (southerner). Other names mean the virtues and moral qualities of a man that are significant for Vietnamese society: Hieu (respectful son), Chi (mind), Thyc (truth), Lyk (strength), Tam (heart), Dang (success). Eastern philosophy considers the sun to be the traditional masculine yang symbol, which is why the Vietnamese language has the name Duong (sun).
Women's proper names repeat the names of flowers: Hoa (flower), Hong (rose), Huong (aroma), Ziep (leaf), Mai (apricot blossom), Lan (orchid). The Vietnamese often give their daughters names that praise traditional female virtues: Chinh (chaste), Dung (patient), Hien (kind), Mi (beautiful). The moon is a traditional symbol of femininity and beauty, so the Vietnamese language has several female names at once with the corresponding poetic meaning: Chang, Hang and Nguyet.
Sometimes a Vietnamese name is perceived as two-syllable, but in fact it is nothing more than a "word-address + proper name." The word-addresses are based on a system of kinship terms, this helps to determine the age, gender and social status of unrelated communication participants: ask your elder brother Duc, convey the best wishes to Aunt Lien, a fax came from sister Huong, etc. In Vietnam, the name is given by parents for life, women do not change their surname when they marry, and children receive the father's surname.
For the full version, see the printed publication:
Daria Mishukova "Vietnam. Journey to the land of dragons and fairies"
Hanoi, Culture and Information Publishing House, 2010 - 268 pp.
