Vietnamese Culture — Cultural Atlas

Vietnamese Culture

Vietnam

Naming

Author Nina Evason, 2025

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Naming Conventions

• Vietnamese names are generally arranged as follows: [FAMILY NAME] [middle name] [given name]. For example, NGUYỄN Văn Nam (male) or LÊ Thị Lam (female).
• The family name (or ‘surname’) is inherited from one’s parents and shared with other members of the individual’s immediate family. Vietnamese names are traditionally patrilineal, whereby children inherit their father’s family name at birth.
• The middle name(s) is a secondary personal name written between the person's family name and given name. For example, NGUYỄN Văn Nam’s middle name is Văn. The middle name serves various purposes, such as distinguishing individuals with the same first and last names, honouring ancestors, or indicating gender.
• The given name (or ‘personal name’) is chosen at birth as the individual’s personal identifier.
• Vietnamese names generally range from two to five words long, depending on the number of words in their middle name and given name.
• Most Vietnamese names include one or two middle names and occasionally more. Some individuals do not have a middle name, such as NGUYỄN Trãi, although this is rare.
• Some personal names may be two syllables/words long. For example, NGUYỄN Thị Hoa Điệp’s personal name is ‘Hoa Điệp’. This is more common for female names.1
• Women do not change their legal names upon marriage. However, some may choose to use their husband’s personal name to introduce themselves. For example, if LÊ Thị Lâm married NGUYỄN Văn Nam, she might refer to herself (unofficially) as ‘Mrs Nam’.
• Vietnamese people living in international or English-speaking contexts may reverse the arrangement of their given name and family name to suit English-Western naming conventions: [personal name] [FAMILY NAME]. For example, NGUYỄN Văn Nam may be known as Văn Nam NGUYỄN.
• Some parents may integrate both their family names into the child’s name as follows: [FATHER’S FAMILY NAME] [MOTHER’S FAMILY NAME] [middle name] [given name]. For example, if NGUYỄN Văn Nam (father) and LÊ Thị Lam (mother) had a child, they may be named NGUYỄN LÊ Ngọc Thảo. In these cases, the father’s family name remains the child’s surname, while the mother’s family name becomes a second middle name.

Names

• Vietnamese given names often have a literal meaning that symbolises a positive value, attribute or characteristic that is desired for the person, e.g. Khiêm (modesty), An (peace and safety), Lập (independent), Dũng (courageous).2
• Many names also have a poetic meaning representing beauty, nature, flora or fauna, e.g. Lan (orchid), Liên (lotus), Xuân (spring), Phong (wind).3
• Many Vietnamese given names can be used interchangeably for both men and women. Some of the most common names used by both genders are Anh, Dung, Hạnh, Hoà, Hồng, Khánh, Lân, Liêm, Nhung, Duy and Xuân.1
• Common middle names in Vietnamese often indicate gender, such as 'Thị' for females and 'Văn' for males. These middle names help to specify the gender of an otherwise unisex name. For instance, Hữu, Đức, Xuân, Ngọc, Quang and Công are middle names that identify the name as belonging to a male.
• These gender-specific middle names frequently appear as one of two or more middle names and are generally omitted when addressing someone. For instance, Nguyễn Thị Tường Vi would typically be addressed as Tường Vi, not Thị Tường Vi (see Addressing Others).
• Some families may use middle names to differentiate between generations, whereby all siblings within a single generation share the same name. Other families may give the same middle name to all individuals of the same gender across generations.
• There is also a traditional practice of using middle names that indicate the order of male siblings, e.g. ‘Mạnh’ (first-born), ‘Trọng’ (second-born), ‘Quí’ (third-born), etc.
• Today, it’s most common to choose a middle name that offers a poetic or positive meaning, e.g. TRẦN Gia Hạnh Phúc means "Happiness to the Tran family".
• The most common family name is NGUYỄN (阮), with approximately 40% of the Vietnamese population sharing this name.4 Other common family names include LÊ (黎), TRẦN (陳), PHẠM (范), PHAN (潘), HOÀNG (黃).

Addressing Others

• In both formal and informal settings, Vietnamese people typically address each other using the person’s given name combined with an honorific title. These titles are usually terms of familial kinship rather than professional roles and are applied even to non-relatives.
• The specific pronoun used is determined by the age, gender, and social status of the person being addressed, as well as the regional context. For example:
  • 'Anh' (older brother) or 'Chị' (older sister) are used for individuals slightly older than oneself, commonly young, unmarried men and women.
  • 'Chú' (uncle) or 'Cô' (aunt) are used for men and women a little younger than one's parents.
  • 'Bác' (older uncle/aunt) is used for people of either gender who are a little older than one's parents.
  • 'Ông' (grandfather) or 'Bà' (grandmother) are used for men and women significantly older or of a similar age to one's grandparents. They may also be used as formal honorifics, similar to ‘Sir’ and ‘Madam’.5
  • 'Em' (younger sibling) is used to address anyone who is younger than oneself, regardless of gender.
  • ‘Cháu’ (grandchild) in North Vietnam or ‘Con’ (child) in Central and South Vietnam, is used to address those who are significantly younger.6
• The non-kinship term 'Bạn' (friend) may refer to someone of the same age and status, mainly used by young people in their early twenties.
• It is appropriate to ask a person’s age when you first meet them so you can address them respectfully.
• The honorific title always precedes the given name(s). Using a title with a person's family name is incorrect. For instance, NGUYỄN Văn Nam would be addressed as ‘Bác Nam’, not ‘Bác NGUYỄN’.
• It is generally only appropriate to use given names when addressing friends, people of the same age and status, or someone younger. Continue using honorific titles when addressing people unless they have indicated that you can address them by their given name alone.
• While individuals may be referred to by their full name in some formal situations, addressing someone solely by their family name is uncommon.

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