Nguyễn

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Nguyễn (help·info) (pronounced [ŋwjě^ʔn] in Vietnamese; approximated as /wɪn/ in English^[1]^[2]) is the most common Vietnamese family name. By some estimates, approximately 40 percent of Vietnamese people have this surname.^[3]^[4] The Chinese surname Ruan is represented by the same Chinese character (阮), and in East Asian cultures the two are identified as the same surname.

The prevalence of Nguyễn as a family name in Vietnam can be felt in countries to which many Vietnamese have immigrated: Nguyễn is the 7th most common family name in Australia^[5] (second only to Smith in the Melbourne phone books^[6]), and the 54th most common in France.^[7] In the United States, it is the 57th most common family name according to the 2000 Census, as well as the most common exclusively Asian surname^[8], a massive leap from its 229th-place ranking in 1990.^[9] It is ranked 124th in the Social Security Index.^[10] In the Czech Republic, it tops the list of foreign names.^[11]

1 Origin and usage
2 Subfamilies
3 Pronunciation
4 Notable Nguyễns
5 Notable Ruans
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Origin and usage

Even though people with this surname are most often associated with Vietnam, it is of Chinese origin, written in Chinese as 阮—pronounced Ruǎn (Ruan) in Standard Mandarin and Yun (Yuen) in Cantonese (see Chinese surnames). Today, Ruan is an uncommon, though by no means rare, surname in China.

Some Vietnamese with this surname claim to be descended from a man named Ruan Cho, a governor of Jiaozhi (交趾, the Sino-Vietnamese name for northern Vietnam at that time) during China's Chen Dynasty (557-589).

Throughout Vietnamese history, many events contributed to the name's prominence. In 1232, after usurping the Lý Dynasty, Trần Thủ Độ forced the descendants of the Lý to change their surname to Nguyễn. When Hồ Quý Ly overturned the Trần Dynasty, he killed many of their descendants so when the Hồ Dynasty collapsed in 1407, many of his descendants changed their surname to Nguyễn in fear of retribution. In 1592, on the collapse of the Mạc Dynasty, their descendants changed their surname to Nguyễn and Lều. When the Nguyễn Dynasty (the descendants of the Nguyễn Lords) took power in 1802, some of the descendants of the Trịnh Lords fearing retribution changed their surname to Nguyễn, while others fled north into China. The Nguyễn Dynasty awarded many people the surname Nguyễn during their rule, and many criminals also changed their surname to Nguyễn to avoid prosecution. Thus, many people having this surname are not necessarily related.^[3]

In Vietnamese custom as with other East Asian cultures, the surname precedes the given names. Like many surnames in Vietnam and other Chinese-influenced cultures (including Korea and Japan), the name Nguyễn is shared with those in Chinese culture with the same surname. The Chinese/Hán Tự character for Nguyễn is 阮, which refers to a moon-shaped lute instrument called ruan (Mandarin).

[edit] Subfamilies

In Vietnamese tradition, people are referred to by their personal names and not by their family names even in formal situations. Thus, there is not much confusion about who is being referred to as one might expect. However, some groups distinguish themselves from other Nguyễn by passing elements of their names that are usually considered middle names to their children. This practice is more common with male than with female children. Some of the prominent subgroups within the Nguyễn family are:

Nguyễn Phước or Nguyễn Phúc: all members of the Nguyễn Dynasty have this as part of their name
Nguyễn Hữu

[edit] Pronunciation

The correct Vietnamese pronunciation is /ŋwiɜn/, pronounced as one syllable. /ŋ/ is the velar nasal found at the end of the English word "sing". Unlike Vietnamese, this consonant is never found in initial position in English. /w/ is the glide found in the English word "wet". /iɜ/ is a rising diphthong. The sound of this diphthong is close (but not identical) to the diphthong /ɪə/ found in British English Received Pronunciation in the word "beer". Finally, /n/ is the same consonant as in English.

Besides these vowels and consonants, Nguyễn is also pronounced with a tone in Vietnamese. In Southern Vietnam, Nguyễn is pronounced with the dipping-rising tone, meaning the pitch of the voice first lowers from level 3 to 1 then rises back to level 3. In Northern Vietnam, Nguyễn is pronounced with the creaking-rising tone, meaning the pitch of the voice rises from level 3 to 5, but with constricted vocal cords, almost akin to a glottal stop heard in the middle of the word. See Vietnamese tones.

The pronunciation of Nguyễn can be approximated by English speakers as "win" or "when". Writers familiar with this approximation have created puns from the pronunciation.^[1]^[2]

[edit] Notable Nguyễns

Main article: People with the surname Nguyễn

Since approximately 40 percent of all Vietnamese people have the surname Nguyễn, notable people with this surname run the gamut of Vietnamese society. They range from heads of state (Nguyễn lords, Nguyễn Dynasty, Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, Nguyễn Minh Triết), poets (Nguyễn Trãi, Nguyễn Du), catholic clergymen (Nguyễn Văn Thuận), writers, scientists, composers, professional poker players (Scotty Nguyen) to executed criminals (Nguyễn Tường Vân). Perhaps the most well-known Nguyễn is not known as a Nguyễn at all, but through an alias. Hồ Chí Minh was born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and used various names with the surname Nguyễn throughout his career (Nguyễn Tất Thành, Nguyễn Ái Quốc) and wasn't known as Hồ Chí Minh until late in his career.