Vietnamese names
Vietnamese names are often built in layers, a family name, a middle name signaling generation or gender, and a given name chosen for its meaning, like Linh (spirit), Minh (bright), or Anh (peace, hero). The tonal language means the same syllable can shift meaning entirely with pitch, giving names a musical precision.
An peace (unisex)
Binh peace, calm; written Bình
Bảo treasure, to protect
Chinh just, fair, righteous; usually written Chính
Cong fair, equitable; written Công
Danh renown, reputation; written Danh
Dao peach blossom; written Đào. The Tết flower of northern Vietnam, where a blooming peach branch marks the new year as the yellow mai blossom does in the south; a vintage floral pick whose plain US spelling coincides with an unrelated Chinese name
Dieu subtle, exquisite; written Diệu
Diệp leaf
Dung beauty, appearance; written Dung
Duy only one, to preserve
Gia family, home. In Vietnam it is the workhorse first element of compound names (Gia Bảo for boys, Gia Hân for girls, both recent top picks there); used alone in the US it overlaps with the Italian Gia, so it passes as mainstream American while staying fully Vietnamese
Giang river
Hang from Hằng Nga, the goddess of the moon; written Hằng
Hanh virtue, good conduct; written Hạnh, the same element as hạnh phúc, happiness
Hien gentle, kindhearted; written Hiền
Hiếu filial piety
Hoa flower
Hong rose, pink; written Hồng in Vietnamese
Huan to teach, to instruct; written Huấn
Hue the tuberose lily, or bright and intelligent; written Huệ
Huy bright, glorious
Huyen black, mysterious; written Huyền
Hà river
Hân joy
Hùng heroic, brave
Hương fragrance
Hải sea
Khang healthy, prosperous
Khiem humble, modest; written Khiêm
Khoa science, scholar
Khánh celebration (unisex)
Khải victory, to begin
Kien steadfast, persevering; written Kiên
Kim gold
Kiệt hero, outstanding
Ky wondrous, remarkable; written Kỳ, as in former leader Nguyễn Cao Kỳ
Lam forest; written Lâm, also a common surname
Lan orchid
Liem integrity, incorruptibility; written Liêm. A quiet favorite for Vietnamese American boys because it sounds almost exactly like Liam, letting one name work at home, at school, and on a resume with no English alias needed
Lien lotus; written Liên. A flower name of the grandmother generation, alongside Mai (apricot blossom) and Lan (orchid); the lotus rising clean out of the mud carries Buddhist weight that made it a staple of 20th-century girls' naming
Lieu willow; written Liễu
Linh soul, spirit
Loan a mythical phoenix-like bird, the luan; unrelated to the English word it happens to resemble
Long dragon
Luan human bonds and ethics; written Luân
Ly a short modern favorite, often understood as the lily (hoa ly)
Lộc prosperity, deer
Mai apricot/cherry blossom
Minh bright, intelligent
Mỹ beautiful
Nam south, manly
Nga moon goddess
Ngan silver; written Ngân, also the word for a lingering musical resonance
Nghia morality, duty; written Nghĩa
Nguyet moon; written Nguyệt in Vietnamese. A grandparent-generation classic among Vietnamese Americans, nearly always spelled without diacritics in the US; the ng- opening (roughly nwyet) is the sound English speakers stumble on, so families often set it as a middle name beside an easier first
Ngọc jade, precious gem
Nhan benevolence, compassion; written Nhân
Nhat sun, day; written Nhật; the near-identical Nhất means first, foremost
Nhi little girl
Nhien natural, serene; written Nhiên. The second half of An Nhiên, one of the most fashionable girls' names in Vietnam since the 2010s; younger Vietnamese American parents pick it for the calm meaning and the soft nyen sound that English handles gracefully
Nhu as, like; written Như
Nhung velvet; written Nhung
Oanh oriole, the songbird of spring poetry
Phat to send out, to issue; written Phát
Phi to fly; written Phi
Phong wind, style
Phung phoenix; written Phụng, the southern form of Phượng
Phuoc happiness, good fortune, blessing; the southern form Phước of Phúc
Phúc fortune, blessing
Phượng phoenix
Quan army, soldier; written Quân; the plain spelling coincides with the older name Quan, mandarin, official
Quang bright, radiant
Quoc nation, country; written Quốc
Quy precious, valuable; written Quý
Quynh the night-blooming quỳnh flower, which opens for a single night; originally a word for fine red jade. Written Quỳnh; a poetic favorite of parents in 1980s and 90s Vietnam, so in the US it clusters in the younger immigrant generation, and bearers often accept the American reading Quinn
Quế cinnamon
Sang wealthy, luxurious; among the most common native Vietnamese given names
Sen lotus; a native Vietnamese flower name
Sinh birth, to give birth; written Sinh
Sơn mountain
Tai talent, ability; written Tài
Thach stone; written Thạch
Thai grand, peaceful, prosperous; written Thái
Thanh blue, clear (unisex)
Thi from a Chinese character meaning clan, lineage; written Thị. The traditional feminine middle name: for generations nearly every Vietnamese woman's legal name carried it (Nguyễn Thị Mai), and refugee-era US paperwork often fused it into the first name, which is why so many Vietnamese American women have Thi on their documents. Parents today mostly skip it in favor of meaningful two-part given names, making Thị itself a generational marker
Tho longevity (as the masculine Thọ) or poetry (as the feminine Thơ)
Thu autumn
Thuan harmonious; written Thuận
Thảo grass, herb (connotes filial devotion)
Thắng victory
Tien to advance, to progress; written Tiến, a common men's name. Without diacritics it becomes identical to the feminine Tiên (fairy), so the plain US spelling Tien does double duty for two different names; the middle name usually settles which one you are looking at
Toan whole, complete, safe; written Toàn
Tram jeweled hairpin; written Trâm
Trang elegant, page of a book
Tri wisdom, intellect; written Trí
Trieu a million, a vast number; written Triệu, echoing the heroine Bà Triệu
Trinh pure, faithful, virtuous
Trong held in high regard, valued; written Trọng
Trung loyal, middle
Truong long, enduring; written Trường
Tu elegant, outstanding; written Tú
Tung pine tree, a symbol of the steadfast gentleman; written Tùng
Tuyen a ray or line (as Tuyến), or spring water (as the feminine Tuyền)
Tuyết snow
Tuấn handsome, intelligent
Tâm heart, mind (unisex)
Uyen written Uyên; depending on the intended Sino-Vietnamese element it can evoke depth or profundity (淵) or the mandarin duck (鴛) in uyên ương, so the spelling alone does not choose one
Van literary, cultured; written Văn. The traditional masculine middle name (Nguyễn Văn Nam), counterpart to the feminine Thị; on US paperwork it often surfaced as a de facto first name, and it stuck easily because Van already existed as an American name. Distinct from the feminine given name Vân, cloud
Vi royal fern; the vi of tường vi, the multiflora rose; also spelled Vy
Vien round, complete; written Viên
Vinh glory
Việt the Vietnamese people
Vuong king, monarch; written Vương
Vy delicate, little
Xuân spring
Yến swallow (bird), peaceful
Đạt to achieve, success
Đức virtue
Which of these fits YOUR family? →