The family name or the last name of a Vietnamese is often at the beginning of the full name while they stand at the end in an American names.
1.The main Vietnamese-names structure is:
Family name + Middle name + Given name.
Ex: Nguyễn Văn Cường
a. Nguyễn is a family name or a last name. Family name is often the family name or the last name of his or her father. Family is usually a word only.
b. Văn is a middle name. Middle name is often a word.
c. Cường is a given name or a first name. This name is always a word.
More examples: Nguyễn Thanh Hiếu, Nguyễn Đình Minh, Phạm Thanh Long, Nguyễn Ái Quốc, Lý Thị Mai, Nguyễn Thị Hồng…
2. However, there are some other structures which are less common:
Father’s last name + Mother’s last name + Middle name + Given name
Ex: Nguyễn Trần Văn Cường
In this structure, father’s last name is much more important than mother’s last name. Mother’s last name is used to make the his or her name a close relationship to his or her mother’s name. The father and the mother use the last name of the mother to perhaps show their children that both father and mother exist in the name. This may make the children more proud of their parents. However, if they are asked what their last name is, the answer will be only their father’s last name. In this case, their mother’s last name is considered as another middle name.
More examples: Huỳnh Trần Thanh Tuấn, Phạm Trần Hương Lộc, Phạm Nguyễn Phương Uyên, Lê Nguyễn Phương Nghi.
3. Another structures which might be found are without middle name.
Family name + Given name
Ex: Nguyễn Cường, Nguyễn Bính, Nguyễn Kim, Từ Hải, Nguyễn Huệ, Lý Hải, Hoàng Oanh.
Father’s last name + Mother’s last name + Given name
Ex: Nguyễn Trần Cường, Phạm Phan Viễn, Trần Lý Nam. In this case, Trần is a so called middle name. The family name or the last name is Nguyễn.
4. Sometimes, we can see this structure:
Family name + Middle name + Middle name + Given name.
Ex: Huỳnh Thị Yến Nhi, Nguyễn Thị Hồng Mai, Nguyễn Phương Hồng Huế…
To know more clearly about family names, middle names and given names individually, please read Vietnamese names.
Besides official names which are mentioned above, most Vietnamese people have called-at-home names. This name is a pretty name which is used for the family, the relatives and the people in the neighborhood to call. In office, in schools and in other social activities, the official names are used.
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