Khmer and Cambodian names
Khmer names put the family name first and the given name second, and the given name is where the meaning sits: a virtue, a quality, and very often a flower. Bopha is flower itself, Champey the frangipani strung into pagoda garlands, Romduol the small cream blossom Cambodia named its national flower. The roots reach back through Pali and Sanskrit as well as Khmer.
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
Channary moon plus woman or girl
Chantha moon; from Pali canda, ultimately Sanskrit candra
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
Phally documented Khmer given name; probably related to phal, 'fruit, result'
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; famously 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
Which of these fits YOUR family? →