Cambodian name

Cambodian names usually consist of two elements including a patronymic, which serves as a common family name for siblings, followed by a given name.[1][2] Surname then given name (Eastern name order). An example is famous singer Sin Sisamouth, his surname (last name) is Sin and his given name (first name) is Sisamouth. (In Western sources, the two are sometimes reversed.)[3] Traditionally, the Khmer do not have Western-style family names shared by multiple generations or entire families. Instead, Khmer children use their father's given name as their family name.[4] Other Austroasiatic indigenous people groups within Cambodia have similar naming customs, while the Sino-Khmer and Viet-Khmer may follow Chinese and Vietnamese naming patterns, respectively. Chams in Cambodia may have either Khmer or Cham names or a combination of both. Cham name order is the reverse of the Khmer; the given name is followed by the father's given name.[5]^:23

Given names

Generally, women are given names relating to beauty, while men are given names of virtues.[6][7] Some Cambodian given names are unisex names.

Surnames

Surnames are usually taken from the surname or the given name of the father[1] and are generally monosyllabic.[8] Cambodian surnames are sometimes identical to Chinese or Vietnamese surnames.[8] Women keep their maiden names after marriage.[6]

Origin and meanings

The meanings of Cambodian names are generally very simple and reference positive attributes. Cambodian people are called by their given names without a title (informal) or by their given names with a title (formal); the full name, including both family name and given name is often used.[2][6] (Surnames are used as a form of address, however, in the case of names that originated as revolutionary aliases.)

Different naming traditions exist among ethnic groups other than the Khmer majority. The Cambodian population is 90% Buddhist and names are often taken from Buddhism. Among the Muslim minority, Arabic names are often used as family names.[1]

Pronunciation

Khmer names are usually pronounced with the stress (emphasis) placed on the last syllable.[9] Khmer uses a glottal stop (the Cockney stop in "ten green bo'les") and other stops: p, t, c and k which may or may not occur with aspiration. In romanizations of Khmer script, aspiration (i.e., a breath sound) is usually marked with an h. Final r, d, g, s, b, and z sounds are not heard: Ngor is pronounced Ngow. Some final consonants are written but not pronounced.[10]

List of some family names

Khmer "family" names are usually simply their father's given name, and as such change with each generation. Other ethnic groups, particularly Chinese-Cambodians and Vietnamese-Cambodians, may have a family name that is taken by each generation, in which case the name is pronounced similarly to the language of origin but within the bounds of Khmer phonology. Below is a list of some common family names,[11] some of which are also found as given names.

Khmer	IPA	Romanization	Origin
កូយ		Kuy
កឹម		Kem
កែប		Kep
កែវ	kaew	Keo	(2nd most popular surname in Cambodia) meaning glass or jewel or crystal
ខាត់	kʰat	Khat	Chinese
ខាយ	kʰaːy	Khay	凱/凯 (triumphant, victorious)
ខៀវ	kʰiəw	Khiev	喬/乔 (Chinese "qiao", vietnamese "kiều")
ខ្លូត	kʰlout	Khlot	generic name for melon-like fruit
គឹម	kɨm	Kim	金 (Korean "Kim" / Mandarin Chinese "Jin", meaning gold)
គួច		Kouch
កាំង		Kaing
ឃាង		Kheang
ឃិន		Khin	Chinese 欽/钦 (respect, admiration)
ឃីម		Khim
ចន្ទ		Chan/Chhan/Jan	Sanskrit word canda (चन्द) meaning moon
ចាន់		Chan
ចាប		Chap	Bird
ចេង		Cheng
ចេន	ceːn	Chen/Jen	陳/陳 (Given only to Cambodians of Chinese descent)
ឆន	cʰɑːn	Chhorn	終/终; whole, complete, entire.
ឆាយ		Chhay
ជា	ciə	Chea	谢 (Chinese Xie)
ជាម	ciəm	Cheam	bowl[12]. From Persian jam (جام) meaning "cup". Related to Hindi जाम (jām) "drinking vessel". Possible cognate of Chinese 盞 (zhǎn) also meaning "cup."
ជិន	cin	Chin/Jin
ជឹម	cɨm	Chim/Choem
ជ័យ	cɨj	Chey/Jey/Jay	Most popular surname in Cambodia, the Cambodian word "chey" meaning "victory" or "victorious", derived from Sanskrit Jaya (जय)
ឈិត	cʰit	Chhet/Chhit	奇 (odd, unusual)
ឈិន			陳/陈 (old)
ឈឹម	cʰəm	Chhim/Chhem	欽 (respect, admiration)
ញឹក	ɲɨk	Nhek	abbreviation of 涅槃 (Nirvana)
ដួង	duəŋ	Duong	beloved, dear, darling
ឌិត	dɨt	Dith	ḍita from Sanskrit Paṇḍita (पण्डित) meaning wise man or scholar; or Chinese 狄 ("Di")
ឌិន	dɨn	Din	from ḍina (डिन) in Pali meaning flight
ឌី		Dy
ឌុល	dul	Dul	from ḍula (डुल) in Pali meaning earring or tremble
ឌួង	duəŋ	Duong	Chinese 東/东 (east)
តក់		Tok	Droplets of water
តាង	taːŋ	Tang	唐
តាត	taːt	Tat	達/达 (attain)
តូច	touc ~ tuːc	Toch/Touch	Small or Tiny
តាំង		Taing
ថន		Than
ទាវ		Teav
ទី	tiː	Ty
ទុំ		Tum
ទ្រី		Try
ទេព	teːp	Tep	from Deva (देव), Sanskrit for god or divine
ធី	tʰiː	Thy
នី		Ny
ប្រាក់		Prak	Khmer for silver
ប៉ាង	paːŋ	Pang	龐/庞 (vast)
ប៉ុក	pok	Pok	波 (Bo)
ប៊ុន	bun	Bun	本 (the four winds, from Vietnamese bốn)
ប៉ែន	paen	Pen/Ben	賓/宾 (guest/visitor)
ផាន	pʰaːn	Phan	潘 (to overflow; be abundant)
ពិជ		Pech
ពេជ្រ		Pich	means Diamonds in Cambodia
ភី	pʰiː	Phy	guardian, one of great importance
មា	maː	Ma	ม้า (Thai version of Chinese "Ma")
មាន	miən	Mean	rich or wealthy; or 緬/缅 (nostalgic, distant)
មាស	miəh	Meas	Khmer for gold
មួយ	muəy	Muy/Muoy	the number 1
មូល	muːl	Mul	round
មេង	meːŋ	Meng	孟 (Chinese "Meng")
ម៉ៅ	maʋ	Mao	毛 (Chinese "Mao"), locals argue that it came from a spoken form of the Khmer word black or kmav (ខ្មៅ). However this word is reconstructed from Proto-Austro-Asiatic as *kVm and thus is unlikely to be so.
យស់	yuəh	Yos/Yous
យុន	yun	Yun	尹 (Chinese "Yun")
យូ	yuː	Yu	尤 (Chinese "Yu")
រស់	rʊəh	Ros/Rous	to live
រួយ		Rouy
លិម	lim	Lim	林 (Chinese "Lin", meaning forest)
លី		Ly
លីវ		Liv
លឹម		Lim
វ៉ាង	ʋaaŋ	Vang
វង្ស	ʋʊəŋ	Vong	Circle, line of descent. Derived from the Sanskrit word vansha (वंश) meaning lineage.
ស	sɑː	Sor/Sar	White
សង	sɑːŋ	Sang	Payback
សម	sɑːm	Sam
សរ	sɑː	Sor/Sar
សាង	saːŋ	Sang	常 (Variation of Chinese "Chang")
សាត	saːt	Sat
សាន	saːn	San
សាយ	saːj	Say
សិន	sɨn	Sin	森; (Forest)
សឺន	səɨn	Son
សុខ	sok	Sok	from Sanskrit sukha (सुख) meaning joy or happiness
សុង	soŋ	Song
សុន	son	Son
ស៊ុយ	suy	Suy	隋 (Sui Dynasty)
សូ	soː	So	蘇/苏 (Chinese "Sū")
ស៊ូ	suː	Su	蘇/苏 (Chinese "Sū")
សួន	suən	Soun	Garden
សឿង		Seoung
សៀង	sieŋ	Sieng/Seang	Soy or Shang (From Shang Hai City)
សេង	seiŋ	Seng	常 (Variation of Chinese "Chang")
សេន	sein	Sen	Cent
សោម	saom	Som	from Sanskrit soma (सोम) meaning moon or sky
សៅ		Sao
ហាក៉		Hak
ហុង	hoŋ	Hong	from Chinese 洪' "Hong" meaning water or flood listed 184th among the Song-era Hundred Family Surnames
ហ៊ុន	hun	Hun	money investment, share (of stocks). Thai or Chinese etymology [13]. Possibly related to 份 ("Hun" in Hokkien) meaning "share, portion."
ហូ	hou	Ho/Hu	胡 (Chinese "Hu")
ឡាយ		Lay
ឡុង	loŋ	Long	龍/龙 (Chinese "Long", meaning dragon)
អាង	aːŋ	Ang/Aang	吳/吴 (Cantonese variation of surname "Wu")
អិម	ʔim	Im/Yim	任 (Hakka Chinese 'jim5')
អុង	ʔoŋ	Ong	王 (Chinese "Wang" (pronounced Ong in Hokkien dialect), meaning king)
អ៊ុច	ʔuc	Uch/Ouch	To Light
អ៊ុយ	ʔuj	Uy
អៀម	ʔiəm	Eam/Iem/Iam
អៀវ	ʔieʋ	Iv/Eav/Eaw	楊 (Chinese "Yang")
អ៊ុំ	ʔum	Um	Aunt (Your parents older brother or sister)
ឯក	ʔaek	Ek/Aek	Self, Single; from Sanskrit eka (एक)
ឱក	ʔaok	Ok/Aok	玉 (Jade)
ឱម	ʔaom	Om	嚴/严 (Chinese "Yan")

List of given names

Unlike Cambodian family names, given names may have multiple syllables and differ greatly. Given names were influenced greatly by Sanskrit.

Khmer	IPA	Romanization	Origin
	ɓɑːliːn	Balin	(bah-lin)
បទុម		Botum	(bo-toum): Meaning lotus
ជា	ciə	Chea	good health
ជាតា		Cheata	(chea-tah) meaning birth, nation, origin
ឆេង		Cheng	鄭/郑 (Variation of Chinese "Zheng")
ឈៀង		Chheang	常 (Chinese "Chang")
តា		Da	大 (Similar to Chinese "Da" but not related; Khmer meaning for "elder man")
ដារា	ɗɑːrɑː	Dara	Sanskrit, meaning star
ឡេង		Leng	梁 (Chinese "Liang")
		Lo	羅/罗 (Chinese "Luo")
ណារុង		Narong	(nah-rong)
		Naroeung	(nahroong)
និមល		Nimol	Which is without doubt, without blemish, always happy
ភួង		Phuong	(poong) name of a kind of flower
សារឿន		Saroeung	(sah-roong)
ស្រី		Srey	(sareiy): (Khmer, meaning girl; from the Sanskrit strī́ [स्त्री])
សន		Son	(sawn): 孫/孙 (Variation of Chinese "Sun")
បុប្ផា		Bopha	(bo-pha): Meaning flower or blossom
ចិន្ដា		Chenda	(chen-dah): Meaning heart or mind
ឈួន		Chhoun	(choo-en)
		Khan	(kahn)
កុសល		Kosal	(ko-sahl): Meaning good deed
គុន្ធា		Kunthea	(kun-thea): Means "sweet-smelling" or "good deed"
ឡាយ		Lai	(lah-ee): 賴/赖 (Chinese "Lai")
លំអង		Lom Ang	(loom-ang): 倫/伦 (Variations of Chinese "Lun" and "Wu")
ម៉ាលី		Maly	(mahlee)
ម៉ី		Mey	(Mae) "妹" (Chinese "mèi" meaning "youngest" sister or "little" sister)
ម៉ាប់		Map	(mahp): Mập ("Fat" or "Chubby")
		Moeuk	(mew)
ផល្លា		Phalla	(pah-lah): Meaning fruit (फल्ला) in Pali
ភារៈ		Phireak	(phi-raek)
ពិរុណ		Phirun	(phi-run): Means "rain" in Khmer, from the name of a rain god in the mythologies of southeast Asia. The god's name is possibly derived from Varuna.
ពៅ		Pov	(pohew): youngest (sibling)
រិទ្ធិ		Rith	(rit) meaning power
រី		Ry	(ree)
សំណាង		Samnang	lucky
សារិទ្ធ		Sarit	(sahrit)
សុផល		Sophal	(sohpahl): (More popular Khmer names)
សារិទ្ធ		Sophea	(so-phea): Means "wisdom"
សារិទ្ធ		Sopheap	(so-pheap): Means "gentle or proper"
សួន		Suon	(soo-in): meaning garden
		Tren	(trayng): Trần (Vietnamese version of Chinese "Chen")
ទី	tiː	Thy	Thị (Chinese "弟" for "youngest" son or "little" brother)
		Thuy	(toy-ee): Thủy (Vietnamese version of Chinese 水), meaning water
វណ្ណា		Vanna	(van-nah): gold, golden, from Sanskrit varṇa (वर्ण)
វាសនា		Veasna	(vea-snah): Means opportunity, good fortune, or fate.
វិបុល		Vibol	(vee-bol): Means abundant, large, vast
វុឌ្ឍិ	vuttʰi	Vuthy	(voo-tee): meaning prosperity. Derived from the Pali word vuddhi (वुद्धि) of the same meaning.[14]

Compound names

At times, many families combine shorter names to create a longer name. This happens often among the wealthier class of Cambodians.

• Sovanna (Combined "So" and "Vanna") means gold in Sanskrit
• Somally (Combined "So" and "Maly")
• Chandarith (Combined "Chanda" and "Rith")

See also

• Cambodian Names Asian name pronunciation guide

References

1. "Naming systems of the world" Archived 2008-04-23 at the Wayback Machine (self-published). Citing Huffman, Franklin Eugene. Cambodian names and titles. Institute of Far Eastern Languages, Yale University (1968). OCLC 20035170.
2. Short, Philip. Pol Pot: Anatomy of a Nightmare. Macmillan (2006), p xv. ISBN 0-8050-8006-6.
3. Kershaw, Roger. Monarchy in South-East Asia: The Faces of Tradition in Transition. Routledge (2001), p xiv. ISBN 0-415-18531-9.
4. Huy, Vannak (2003). THE KHMER ROUGE DIVISION 703: From Victory to Self-destruction. Phnom Penh: Documentation Center of Cambodia. pp. 6 (note 1). CiteSeerX 10.1.1.139.6706.
5. Ueki, Kaori (2011). "PROSODY AND INTONATION OF WESTERN CHAM" (PDF). University of Hawaii. Retrieved 20 November 2017. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
6. Valerie Ooka Pang & Li-Rong Lilly Cheng. Struggling to Be Heard: The Unmet Needs of Asian Pacific American Children. SUNY Press (1998), p51. ISBN 0-7914-3839-2.
7. Asian American Community Mental Health Training Center. Bridging Cultures: Southeast Asian Refugees in America. University of Michigan (1983), p98. OCLC 10431338.
8. Mary Fong & Rueyling Chuang. Communicating Ethnic and Cultural Identity. Rowman & Littlefield (2003), p40. ISBN 0-7425-1739-X.
9. Khmer Institute
10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-05. Retrieved 2011-06-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
11. "What Language Does He Speak? Asian Last Name Guide" (PDF).
12. Headley, Robert K. "SEAlang Library Khmer", SEAlang Library, 05/14/2018
13. Headley, Robert K. "SEAlang Library Khmer", SEAlang Library, 05/14/2018
14. Headley, Robert K. "SEAlang Library Khmer", SEAlang Library, 05/14/2018