Vietnamese personal names generally consist of three parts: a family name, a middle name, and a given name, used in that order. The "family name first" order follows the system of Chinese names and is common throughout the Chinese cultural sphere, but is different from Chinese, Korean, and Japanese names in having a middle name. Persons can be referred to by either the whole name, the given name, or a hierarchic pronoun in normal usage.
Due to the frequency of the major family names such as Nguyễn, Trần, and Lê, a person is often referred to by their middle name along with their given name in Vietnamese media and youth culture.
The Vietnamese language is tonal, and so are Vietnamese names. Names with the same spelling (ignoring diacritics) but with different tones are different names, which can confuse non-Vietnamese people when the diacritics are dropped, in use outside Vietnam.
Family name
The family name, positioned first, is passed on by the father to his children. It is estimated that there are around one hundred family names in common use, although some are far more common than others. The name Nguyễn is estimated to be used by almost 40% of the Vietnamese population. The top three names are so popular because people tended to take the family name of kings, to show their loyalty. Over many generations, the family names became permanent.
A Vietnamese woman surnamed Nguyen found guilty of arson has been sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison, and is to be deported after serving her sentence, the ChanghuaDistrict Court ruled.
His main campaign sign echoes the yellow and red-striped flag of South Vietnam — intended to remind voters that the candidate with one of the most common Vietnamese surnames is one of their own.
Officials at Taichung’s Dongshih Precinct on Sunday said that they tracked down and arrested a Vietnamese national surnamed Trinh, who faces charges for allegedly possessing an illegal modified rifle, ...
The surname Southgate, translated into Vietnamese means "Cửa Nam" (the southern gate), which is also the name of a street in the capital's heart ... The surname Southgate, translated into Vietnamese is ...
It was in Ba Vi that Binh’s father met his Vietnamese wife and Binh was born in 1959... In 2016, he finally obtained a Moroccan passport, as did his two children, born to a Vietnamese mother, under a surname chosen by the embassy.
Police on Saturday arrested a fugitive surnamed Chen (陳) on suspicion of heading a criminal ring based in Kaohsiung that allegedly assisted Vietnamese and Chinese in illegally entering Taiwan via ocean routes.
He is the son of Vietnamese refugees, ... The fact that Tran is the son of Vietnamese immigrants and has a Vietnamese surname could help him build name recognition but won't be determinative, DeSipio said.
The filing came after the five people were arrested on Wednesday for their suspected involvement in the kidnapping and death of a 24-year-old Vietnamese worker, surnamed Vu, who was employed in Taoyuan.
... as saying that he had three people working at the site to dismantle a housing showroom when a metal frame collapsed, killing the driver of a skid loader, a 32-year-old Vietnamese worker surnamed Phan.
Franchise owner Li Fang-hsuan (黎仿軒), a store manager surnamed Wang (王) and a Vietnamese cook surnamed Ho (胡) face charges of contravening the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法) and ...
Investigators indicted a woman surnamed Nguyen, proprietor of a JhongliDistrict, Taoyuan food stall for a mass food poisoning incident ... (中壢) which sold Vietnamese-style sandwhiches known as banh mi.
... Wei (魏), as well as a Vietnamese woman surnamed Nguyen and her boyfriend being charged with contravening the Employment Services Act (就業服務法), document forgery and fraud, the prosecutors’ office said.
A Vietnamese man convicted of murder has had his 18-year prison ... In a press release, the prosecutors’ office said the case involved a Vietnamese national, surnamed Vu, who came to Taiwan work in 2013.
Investigators found that the owner of the matchmaking business was a man surnamed Lu (呂), who told an investigator over the telephone that he could provide 10 Vietnamese women to choose from, having mistaken him as someone looking for a foreign wife.
