40% of the population
I came across an article in English that talked about the Nguyen family name and its presence in Vietnam.
I decided to take an interest in it and I think it might interest you too.
Upon arriving in Vietnam, you will notice that the surname Nguyen is extremely widespread. Personally, among my Vietnamese friends, 85% are Nguyen (no relation). It’s actually quite impressive.
Indeed, Nguyen is the most common surname in Vietnam – approximately 40 percent of people in the country (and the Vietnamese diaspora) bear this name.
Given that the global Vietnamese population totals approximately 94 million people, this means that some 38 million of them are called “Nguyen.
Other common surnames are: Tran, Ly, Le, Ho, Pham, Ngo, Vu, Phan
Nguyen’s overwhelming prevalence – on a percentage basis – surpasses even the popularity of “Kim” and “Park” in Korea, “Singh” in India; and “Smith” and “Jones” in Anglo-Saxon countries or even Dupont and Durand in France.
Ruan Yen
The name Nguyen is believed to have its origin in the Chinese surname “Ruan” (in Mandarin) or Yuen (Cantonese), due to China’s long rule over Vietnam. Periodically, during both periods of Chinese rule as well as Vietnamese dynastic rule, the name Nguyen was pushed by new regimes or voluntarily adopted by locals for various reasons such as employment opportunities, privileges, power, l affiliation.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the Nguyen dynasty took power in Vietnam (which unified the country) and imposed its name. She ruled the country until the end of World War II. Several members of fallen dynasties such as the Ly or Mac changed their names to avoid reprisals.
The name “Nguyen” was also the name of the last dynasty of Vietnamese emperors. The last king was Bao-Daï, but his real name was Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy.
Most Vietnamese have three names – the family name (or clan name), followed by a first name (previously the most commonly used were Van for men and Thi for women), ending with the personal name.
The trick: The first name is used to differentiate people with the same last name but no family relationship.
There are around 160 surnames recorded among the Vietnamese
The famous Nguyens
Nguyễn Minh Triết: President of Vietnam
Nguyễn Sinh Cung known as Hồ Chí Minh: Politician
Nguyễn Dân Phú: Master of Việt Võ Đạo
Nguyễn Tấn Dũng (born 1949) – Prime Minister of Vietnam
Nguyễn Huệ: Founder of the Tay Son Dynasty.
Nguyễn Thái Học: Founder of “Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng” (Nationalist Party of Vietnam).
If you know of others, don’t hesitate to mention them in the comments.
