Khmer and Cambodian baby names
Handpicked for families who want names with roots: the beloved classics, what parents in the culture choose today, and the cool discoveries most US name sites never surface.
Arunny dawn light; from Sanskrit aruna
Bopha flower; from Pali puppha. A girls' classic spanning every generation, from grandmothers of pre-war Phnom Penh to daughters in Long Beach and Lowell; the same element appears in Buppha Devi, the princess who led Cambodia's royal ballet
Botum lotus; from Pali paduma
Champey the frangipani (plumeria) blossom, strung into offering garlands at pagodas
Chamroeun to prosper, to progress; a native Khmer word
Chan moon; from Sanskrit chandra. Equally common as a family name, and since Khmer order puts the family name first, US refugee paperwork sometimes turned Chan family names into American first names
Chantrea the moon, moonlight; from Sanskrit chandra
Chenda thought, mind; from Sanskrit chinta
Dara star; from Sanskrit tara. A true unisex classic and a great accidental crossover: the same spelling exists as an Irish name and a Persian one, so Cambodian American kids rarely have to explain it twice
Davy from Sanskrit devi, goddess. One of the most common women's names of the refugee generation; on paper Americans read the boyish English Davy, but it is pronounced dah-VEE with the stress on the end, a small daily translation Cambodian Americans know well
Heng luck, prosperity; from Teochew Chinese, brought by the Sino-Khmer families at the center of Cambodian commerce. Used as both surname and given name, a reminder that Khmer naming carries a Chinese layer alongside its Sanskrit one
Kolab rose; a loanword that traveled from Persian gulab through India into Khmer
Kosal skillful, wholesome; from Pali kusala, the word for wholesome deeds in Buddhist teaching
Kunthea fragrance; from Sanskrit gandha
Leakhena fine qualities, auspicious attributes; from Sanskrit lakshana
Makara the makara, the sea dragon of Hindu-Buddhist myth, and the Khmer word for January; one Khmer custom names a child for the birth month, so Makara doubles as a calendar name the way Tola (October) and Seyha (August) do
Maly flower, garland; from Sanskrit mala. One of the easiest Khmer names to carry in America, landing next to Molly and Mali in English ears, which is why refugee-era daughters often kept it unchanged while harder names got traded for English ones
Mealea garland of flowers; from Sanskrit mala
Mony gem, jewel; from Sanskrit mani
Navy a widespread Khmer women's name of the refugee generation; its meaning is uncertain, and the match with the English word navy is an accident of romanization (pronounced nah-VEE)
Nimol spotless, pure; from Sanskrit nirmala
Oudom supreme, excellent; from Sanskrit uttama
Panha wisdom, intelligence; from Pali panna. A boys' favorite in Cambodia since the 2000s, so in the US it tends to mark the newer wave of Cambodian arrivals rather than the refugee generation
Phirun gentle rain; from Varuna, the Indic god of rain and waters
Pich diamond; from Sanskrit vajra by way of Pali vajira
Piseth excellent, extraordinary; from Sanskrit vishishta
Ratanak jewel, treasure; from Pali ratana
Reaksmey ray of light; from Sanskrit rashmi
Rithy power, might; from Sanskrit riddhi; borne by filmmaker Rithy Panh, chronicler of the Khmer Rouge years
Romduol the rumduol, a small cream-colored blossom with a strong evening fragrance, declared Cambodia's national flower by royal decree in 2005; as a given name it is an unmistakable heritage statement, chosen when parents want the Khmer to be visible
Sambath wealth, fortune; from Pali sampatti
Samnang luck, good fortune; a native Khmer word rather than a Sanskrit borrowing. Given heavily to children born in the late 1970s and 1980s, when surviving the Khmer Rouge years and reaching a border camp made the meaning literal; in the US it reads as a first-generation marker
Serey free, freedom; from Pali seri
Socheata well-born; from Pali sujata
Sokha happiness, wellbeing; from Pali sukha, the root of the everyday greeting sok sabay; given to both sons and daughters across every generation
Sophal good fruit, good outcome; from Sanskrit su and phala
Sopheap gentle, well-mannered; the ordinary Khmer word for courteous
Sovann gold, golden; from Sanskrit suvarna
Srey girl, lady; from Sanskrit stri. A standalone name and the workhorse prefix of Khmer daughters' names (Sreypich, diamond girl; Sreyleak, virtuous girl), so productive that Srey by itself almost works as a feminine title
Thida daughter; from Pali dhita
Vannak golden; from Sanskrit varna
Veasna destiny, fate; from Sanskrit vasana. The signature boys' name of the post-1975 generation: parents who had lost everything named sons Veasna as a bet on what came next, and men of that cohort carry it through Long Beach and Lowell today
Visal vast, great; from Sanskrit vishala
Vuthy growth, prosperity; from Pali vuddhi
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