Cambodian name
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Cambodian names are names used in, or originating in, Cambodia which usually consist of two elements including a patronymic, which serves as a common family name for siblings, followed by a given name (i.e. following the Eastern name order).[1][2] 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 Khmer 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] Khmer surnames are sometimes identical to Chinese or Vietnamese surnames.[8] Women keep their maiden names after marriage.[6]
Origin and meanings[]
The meanings of Khmer 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).[clarification needed]
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 brief stop in uh-oh) 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 | UNGEGN | Common spellings | Origin |
---|---|---|---|---|
កូយ | /kouy/ | Koy | Koy | |
កឹម | /kəm/ | Kœ̆m | Koem | |
កែប | /kaep/ | Kêb | Kaep, Kep | |
កែវ | /kaew/ | Kêv | Kev, Kaev, Keo | Second most common Khmer surname, meaning glass or jewel or crystal |
កាំង | /kaŋ/ | Kăng | Kang | |
ខាត់ | /kʰat/ | Khăt | Khat | |
ខាយ | /kʰaːy/ | Khay | Khay | 凱/凯 (triumphant, victorious) |
ខៀវ | /kʰiəw/ | Khiĕv | Khiev, Kheav | 喬/乔 (Chinese "qiao", Vietnamese "kiều") |
ខ្លូត | /kʰlout/ | Khlot | Khlot | generic name for melon-like fruit |
គ្រី | /kriː/ | Kri | Kri, Kry, Kree | |
គឹម | /kɨm/ | Kœ̆m | Koem, Kim | 金 (Korean "Kim" / Mandarin Chinese "Jin", meaning gold) |
គួច | /kuəc/ | Kuŏch | Kuoch | |
ឃាង | /kʰiəŋ/ | Khéang | Kheang | |
ឃិន | /kʰɨn/ | Khĭn | Khin | Chinese 欽/钦 (respect, admiration) |
ឃីម | /kʰiːm/ | Khim | Khim | |
ចន្ទ | /can/ | Chăn | Chan | Sanskrit word canda (चन्द) meaning moon |
ចាន់ | /can/ | Chăn | Chan | |
ចាប | /caːp/ | Chab | Chap | means Bird in Khmer |
ចេង | /ceːŋ/ | Chéng | Cheng | |
ចេន | /ceːn/ | Chén | Chen, Jen | 陳/陳 (Given only to Cambodians of Chinese descent) |
ឆន | /cʰɑːn/ | Chhân | Chhan, Chhorn | 終/终; whole, complete, entire. |
ឆាយ | /cʰaːy/ | Chhay | Chhay | |
ជា | /ciə/ | Chéa | Chea | 谢 (Chinese Xie) |
ជាម | /ciəm/ | Chéam | Cheam | bowl.[12] From Persian جام (jam) meaning "cup". Or could be from Chinese 詹 (zhan) meaning "talk too much." |
ជិន | /cɨn/ | Chĭn | Chin, Jin | |
ជី | /ciː/ | Chi | Chi, Chy | |
ជឹម | /cɨm/ | Chœ̆m | Choem | |
ជ័យ | /cɨj/ | Chey | Chey, Jey | Most popular surname in Cambodia, the Cambodian word "chey" meaning "victory" or "victorious", derived from Sanskrit Jaya (जय) |
ឈិត | /cʰɨt/ | Chhĭt | Chhit | 奇 (odd, unusual) |
ឈិន | /cʰɨn/ | Chhĭn | Chhin | 陳/陈 (old) |
ឈឹម | /cʰɨm/ | Chhœ̆m | Chhoem | 欽 (respect, admiration) |
ញឹក | /ɲɨk/ | Nhœ̆k | Nhoek | abbreviation of 涅槃 (Nirvana) |
ដួង | /ɗuəŋ/ | Duŏng | Duong | beloved, dear, darling |
ឌិត | /ɗɨt/ | Dĭt | Dit, Dith | ḍita from Sanskrit Paṇḍita (पण्डित) meaning wise man or scholar; or Chinese 狄 ("Di") |
ឌិន | /ɗɨn/ | Dĭn | Din | from ḍina (डिन) in Pali meaning flight |
ឌី | /ɗiː/ | Di | Di, Dy, Dee | |
ឌុល | /ɗul/ | Dŭl | Dul | from ḍula (डुल) in Pali meaning earring or tremble |
ឌួង | /ɗuəŋ/ | Duŏng | Duong | Chinese 東/东 (east) |
តក់ | /tɑk/ | Ták | Tak | Droplets of water |
តាង | /taːŋ/ | Tang | Tang | 唐 |
តាត | /taːt/ | Tat | Tat, Tath | 達/达 (attain) |
តូច | /touc/ | Toch | Toch, Touch | Small or Tiny |
តាំង | /taŋ/ | Tăng | Tang | Possibly from Chinese 凳 meaning "bench" or "chair".[12] |
ថន | /tʰɑːn/ | Thân | Than, Thorn | |
ថៃ | /tʰaj/ | Thai | Thai | |
ទាវ | /tiəw/ | Téav | Teav | |
ទី | /tiː/ | Ti | Ti, Ty, Tee | |
ទុំ | /tum/ | Tŭm | Tum | |
ទ្រី | /triː/ | Tri | Tri, Try | |
ទេព | /teːp/ | Tép | Tep | from Deva (देव), Sanskrit for god or divine |
ធី | /tʰiː/ | Thi | Thi, Thy, | |
នី | /niː/ | Ni | Ni, Ny, | |
ប្រាក់ | /prak/ | Prăk | Prak | Khmer for silver |
ប៉ាង | /paːŋ/ | Pang | Pang | 龐/庞 (vast) |
ប៉ុក | /pok/ | Pŏk | Pok | 波 (Bo) |
ប៊ុន | /bun/ | Bŭn | Bun | 本 (the four winds, from Vietnamese bốn). Or from 文 |
ប៉ែន | /paen/ | Pên | Pen, Paen | 賓/宾 (guest/visitor) |
ផាន | /pʰaːn/ | Phan | Phan | 潘 (to overflow; be abundant) |
ពិជ | /pɨc/ | Pĭch | Pich | |
ពេជ្រ | /peːc/ | Péch | Pech | Khmer word for diamonds |
ភី | /pʰiː/ | Phi | Phi, Phy | guardian, one of great importance |
មា | /maː/ | Ma | Ma | ม้า (Thai version of Chinese "Ma") |
មាន | /miən/ | Méan | Mean | rich or wealthy; or 緬/缅 (nostalgic, distant) |
មាស | /miəh/ | Méas | Meas | Khmer word for gold |
មួយ | /muəy/ | Muŏy | Muoy | means one |
មូល | /muːl/ | Mul | Mul, Moul | round |
មេង | /meːŋ/ | Méng | Meng | 孟 (Chinese "Meng"). Or from 明 meaning "bright" |
ម៉ៅ | /maw/ | Mau | Mau, 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 | /yuh/ | Yós | Yos, Yoh | |
យុន | /yun/ | Yŭn | Yun | 尹 (Chinese "Yun") |
យូ | /yuː/ | Yu | Yu, You | 尤 (Chinese "Yu") |
រស់ | /rʊəh/ | Ruŏs | Ruos, Ruoh, Ros | to live |
រួយ | /rʊəj/ | Ruŏy | Ruoy | |
លន់ | /lun/ | Lón | Lon | |
លិម | /lim/ | Lĭm | Lim, Lym | 林 (Chinese "Lin", meaning forest) |
លី | /liː/ | Li | Li, Ly, Lee | |
លីវ | /liːw/ | Liv | Liv | |
លីម | /liːm/ | Lim | Lim | |
វ៉ាង | /ʋaːŋ/ | Vang | Vang | |
វង្ស | /ʋuŋ/ | Vóng | Vong | Circle, line of descent. Derived from the Sanskrit word vansha (वंश) meaning lineage. |
ស | /sɑː/ | Sâ | Sa, Sar, Sor | White |
សង | /sɑːŋ/ | Sâng | Sang, Song | Payback |
សន | /sɑːn/ | Sân | San, Sorn | |
ស៊ន | /sɔːn/ | Sôn | Son, Sorn | |
សម | /sɑm/ | Sám | Sam, Som | |
សរ | /sɑːØ/ | Sâ | Sa, Sar, Sor | |
សាង | /saːŋ/ | Sang | Sang | 常 (Variation of Chinese "Chang") |
សាត | /saːt/ | Sat | Sat, Sath | |
សាន | /saːn/ | San | San | |
សាន់ | /san/ | Săn | San | |
សាយ | /saːj/ | Say | Say | |
សិន | /sən/ | Sĕn | Sen, Sin | 森; (Forest) |
សឺន | /səɨn/ | Sœn | Soen, Seun, Son | |
សុខ | /sok/ | Sŏk | Sok | the most common Khmer surname, from Sanskrit sukha (सुख) meaning joy or happiness |
សុង | /soŋ/ | Sŏng | Song | |
សុន | /son/ | Sŏn | Son | |
ស៊ុន | /sun/ | Sŭn | Sun | |
ស៊ុយ | /suj/ | Sŭy | Suy | 隋 (Sui Dynasty) |
សូ | /soː/ | So | So | 蘇/苏 (Chinese "Sū") |
ស៊ូ | /suː/ | Su | Su | 蘇/苏 (Chinese "Sū") |
សួន | /suən/ | Suŏn | Suon | Garden |
សឿង | /sɨəŋ/ | Sœăng | Soeang | |
សៀង | /siəŋ/ | Siĕng | Sieng, Seang | Soy or Shang (From Shang Hai City) |
សេង | /seːŋ/ | Séng | Seng | 常 (Variation of Chinese "Chang").
孫 Or from Chinese "Sun" Or 成 meaning "to succeed" |
សេន | seːn | Sén | Sen | Cent |
សោម | /saom/ | Saôm | Saom, Som | from Sanskrit soma (सोम) meaning moon or sky |
សៅ | /saw/ | Sau | Sau, Sao | |
ហាក់ | /hak/ | Hăk | Hak | |
ហុង | /hoŋ/ | Hŏng | Hong | from Chinese 洪 "Hong" meaning water or flood listed 184th among the Song-era Hundred Family Surnames |
ហ៊ុន | /hun/ | Hŭn | Hun | money investment, share (of stocks)[12] Possibly from 份 ("Hun" in Hokkien) meaning "share, portion." Or from 芬 meaning "fragrance" |
ហូ | /hou/ | Ho | Ho | 胡 (Chinese "Hu") |
ហេង | /heːŋ/ | Héng | Heng | |
ឡាយ | /laːj/ | Lay | Lay | 來/来 (Chinese "Lai", meaning Come) |
ឡុង | /loŋ/ | Lŏng | Long | 龍/龙 (Chinese "Long", meaning dragon) |
អាង | /ʔaːŋ/ | Ang | Ang | 吳/吴 (Cantonese variation of surname "Wu") |
អិម | /ʔim/ | Ĕm | Em, Im, Yim | 任 (Hakka Chinese 'jim5') |
អុង | /ʔoŋ/ | Ŏng | Ong | 王 (Chinese "Wang" (pronounced Ong in Hokkien dialect), meaning king) |
អ៊ុច | /ʔuc/ | Ŭch | Uch | To Light |
អ៊ុយ | /ʔuj/ | Ŭy | Uy | |
អៀម | /ʔiəm/ | Iĕm | Iem, Eam, Iam | |
អៀវ | /ʔiew/ | Iĕv | Iev, Eav, Eaw | 楊 (Chinese "Yang") |
អ៊ុំ | /ʔum/ | Ŭm | Um | Aunt (A parent's older brother or sister) |
ឯក | /ʔaek/ | Êk | Ek, Aek | Self, Single; from Sanskrit eka (एक) |
ឱ | /ʔaːo/ | Aô | Ao, Or | |
ឱក | /ʔaːok/ | Aô | Aok | 玉 (Jade) |
ឱម | /ʔaːom/ | Aôm | Aom, Om | 嚴/严 (Chinese "Yan") |
List of given names[]
This section is missing information about Khmer script and IPA names.(April 2015) |
Unlike Khmer family names, given names may have multiple syllables and differ greatly. Given names were influenced greatly by Sanskrit.
Khmer | IPA | UNGEGN | Revised | Origin |
---|---|---|---|---|
បទុម | /ɓɔtum/ | Bôtŭm | Botum | means lotus |
ចន្ថា | /cɑntʰaː/ | Chăntha | Chantha | |
ជា | /ciə/ | Chéa | Chea | good health |
ជាតា | /ciətaː/ | Chéata | Cheata | (chea-tah) meaning birth, nation, origin |
ឆេង | /cʰeːŋ/ | Chhéng | Chheng | 鄭/郑 (Variation of Chinese "Zheng") |
ឈៀង | /cʰiəŋ/ | Chhiĕng | Chhieng | 常 (Chinese "Chang") |
តា | /ɗaː/ | Da | Da | 大 (Similar to Chinese "Da" but not related; Khmer meaning for "elder man") |
តារា | /ɗaːraː/ | Dara | Dara | Sanskrit, meaning star |
ឡេង | /leːŋ/ | Léng | Leng | 梁 (Chinese "Liang") |
ណារ៉ុង | /naːroŋ/ | Narŏng | Narong | |
និមល | /nimul/ | Nĭmól | Nimol | Which is without doubt, without blemish, always happy |
ភួង | /pʰuəŋ/ | Phuŏng | Phuong | (poong) name of a kind of flower |
សារឿន | /saːrɨən/ | Sarœăn | Saroean, Saroeun | |
ស្រី | /srəj/ | Srei | Srei, Srey | means girl; from the Sanskrit strī́ [स्त्री] |
សន | /sɑn/ | Sân | San, Son, Sorn | (sawn): 孫/孙 (Variation of Chinese "Sun") |
បុប្ផា | /ɓopʰaː/ | Bŏpha | Bopha | (bo-pha): Meaning flower or blossom |
បុរី | /ɓorəj/ | Bŏrei | Borei, Borey | |
ចិន្ដា | /cənɗaː/ | Chĕnda | Chenda | (chen-dah): Meaning heart or mind |
ឈួន | /cʰuən/ | Chhuŏn | Chhuon | (choo-en) |
ខាន់ | /kʰan/ | Khăn | Khan | (kahn) |
កុសល | /kosɑl/ | Kŏsál | Kosal | (ko-sahl): Meaning good deed |
គុន្ធា | /kuntʰiə/ | Kŭnthéa | Kunthea | (kun-thea): Means "sweet-smelling" or "good deed" |
ឡាយ | /laːj/ | Lay | Lay | (lah-ee): 賴/赖 (Chinese "Lai") |
លំអង | /lumˈɑŋ/ | Lum-âng | Lum-ang, Lum Ang | (loom-ang): 倫/伦 (Variations of Chinese "Lun" and "Wu") |
ម៉ាលី | /maːliː/ | Mali | Mali, Maly | (mahlee) |
ម៉ី | /məj/ | Mei | Mei, Mey | (mae) "妹" (Chinese "mèi" meaning "youngest" sister or "little" sister) |
ម៉ាប់ | /map/ | Măp | Map | (mahp): Mập ("Fat" or "Chubby") |
ណារី | /naːriː/ | Nari | Nari, Nary | |
បញ្ញា | /paɲˈɲaː/ | Pănha | Panha, Pagna | meaning "smart", "intelligent" |
ពិសិដ្ឋ | /pisɨt/ | Pĭsĕt | Piset, Piseth | |
ផល្លា | /pʰɑllaː/ | Phálla | Phalla | (pah-lah): Meaning fruit (फल्ला) in Pali |
ភារៈ | /pʰiərĕəʔ/ | Phéareăk | Pheareak | (phi-raek) |
ភិរុណ | /pʰirun/ | Phĭrŭn | 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 | /pɨw/ | Pŏu | Pou, Pov | (pohew): youngest (sibling) |
រស្មី | /rĕəʔsməj/ | Reăksmei | Reaksmei, Reaksmey | |
រិទ្ធិ | /rɨt/ | Rĭt | Rit, Rith | (rit) meaning power |
រី | /riː/ | Ri | Ri, Ry | (ree) |
សម្បត្តិ | /sɑmˈɓat/ | Sámbăt | Sambat, Sambath | |
សម្ផស្ស | /sɑmˈpʰŏəh/ | Sámphoăs | Samphoas, Samphors | meaning "beauty" |
សំណាង | /sɑmˈnaːŋ/ | Sâmnang | Samnang | luck |
សារិទ្ធ | /saːrɨt/ | Sarĭt | Sarit, Sarith | (sahrit) |
សុខា | /sokʰaː/ | Sŏkha | Sokha | |
សុធា | /sotʰiə/ | Sŏthéa | Sothea | |
សុផល | /sopʰɑl/ | Sŏphál | Sophal | (sohpahl): (More popular Khmer names) |
សុផាត | /sopʰɑt/ | Sŏphát | Sophat | |
សុភា | /sopʰiə/ | Sŏphéa | Sophea | (so-pia): Means "wisdom" |
សុភាព | /sopʰiəp/ | Sŏphéap | Sopheap | (so-piap): Means "gentle or proper" |
សួន | /suən/ | Suŏn | Suon | (soo-in): meaning garden |
ទី | /tiː/ | Ti | Ti, Ty | |
វណ្ណា | /ʋannaː/ | Vănna | Vanna | (van-nah): gold, golden, from Sanskrit varṇa (वर्ण) |
វាសនា | /ʋiəˈsnaː/ | Véasna | Veasna | (vea-snah): Means opportunity, good fortune, or fate. |
វិបុល | /ʋibo/ | Vĭbŏl | Vibol | (vee-bol): Means abundant, large, vast |
វុឌ្ឍី | /ʋuttʰiː/ | Vutthi | Vuthi, Vuthy | (voo-tee): meaning prosperity. Derived from the Pali word vuddhi (वुद्धि) of the same meaning.[12] |
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[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "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.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Short, Philip. Pol Pot: Anatomy of a Nightmare. Macmillan (2006), p xv. ISBN 0-8050-8006-6.
- ^ Kershaw, Roger. Monarchy in South-East Asia: The Faces of Tradition in Transition. Routledge (2001), p xiv. ISBN 0-415-18531-9.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Ueki, Kaori (2011). "PROSODY AND INTONATION OF WESTERN CHAM" (PDF). University of Hawaii. Retrieved 20 November 2017. Cite journal requires
|journal=
(help) - ^ Jump up to: a b c 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.
- ^ Asian American Community Mental Health Training Center. Bridging Cultures: Southeast Asian Refugees in America. University of Michigan (1983), p98. OCLC 10431338.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Mary Fong & Rueyling Chuang. Communicating Ethnic and Cultural Identity. Rowman & Littlefield (2003), p40. ISBN 0-7425-1739-X.
- ^ Khmer Institute
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-05. Retrieved 2011-06-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ "What Language Does He Speak? Asian Last Name Guide" (PDF).
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d Headley, Robert K. "SEAlang Library Khmer", SEAlang Library, 05/14/2018
- Names by culture
- Cambodian culture