160+ Vietnamese Names Plus Their Meanings & Pronunciations

 

Overview

According to data from the Migration Policy Institute, around 2.3 million US residents are of Vietnamese descent, including around 1.4 million immigrants born in Vietnam. (1)

So, you likely have encountered Vietnamese people or heard their names. 

Most of these baby names have possibly difficult pronunciations to non-Vietnamese people, especially because many aren’t pronounced based on their phonetic spelling in English.

For example, something as ‘simple’ as “Ngọc” is pronounced “ngowkp.”

“Dân” isn’t pronounced as “dan,” but “zun” or “yung” in Vietnamese. Also, “Lanh” can be pronounced as “lan,” “lehn,” or “lieng.”

The letters “D” and “G” can be pronounced as “Z” (North Vietnam) or “Y” (South Vietnam), though this isn’t an absolute rule.

Also, several names with English-like spellings actually have very different meanings and pronunciations. 

For example:

• “Hung” means “hero” 
• “Hằng” means “angel in the full moon”
• “Son” means “mountain”
• “Loan” (pronounced as “lwan”) means “mythological bird”

 

Names can also have different meanings, depending on the syllables’ accents. However, others also remain the same even with varied accented spellings.

For example, “Mây” means “cloud,” but “May” (without an accent) means “lucky.”

Read on to find more of these interesting and exotic Vietnamese names.

 

The Best Vietnamese Names By Category

What Are Common Vietnamese Names?

1. Ai (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “ie” or “eye”) – “Sentimental love”; also a Chinese girl name
2. Anh (Vietnamese gender-neutral name; pronounced as “an” or “ieng”) – “Peace,” “quiet,” “flower,” “hero,” or “brave”; also a Chinese name
3. Bảo (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “bow”) – “Protection,” “security,” “treasure,” “praise,” or “jewel”; also a Chinese boy name and spelled as “Bao”
4. Dương (Vietnamese unisex name; pronounced as “zwung” or “ywung”) – “Masculine,” “male,” or “virile”
5. Han (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “han” or “hang”) – “Faithful” or “moral”; also a Chinese and Japanese girl name
6. Kim (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “kim”) – Short girl name that means “gold”
7. Ngọc (Vietnamese unisex name; pronounced as “ngowkp”) – “Jade”; also spelled as “Ngoc”
8. Nguyên (Vietnamese unisex name; pronounced as “new-wen”) – “Musical instrument”; one of the most popular names for boys in Vietnam and is also the most common Vietnamese last name
9. Quynh (Vietnamese unisex name; pronounced as “kwin” or “kwing”) – “Deep red”; among the favorite girl names in Vietnam, but can also be used as a baby boy name
10. Thanh (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “tan” or “tieng”) – “Bright,” “a sound pleasing to the ear,” “young,” “voice,” or “blue/green”; also a name that means “sun” (sunny)
11. Tú (Vietnamese unisex name; pronounced as “too” or “tuw”) – ‘Luxuriant,” “outstanding,” or “elegant”; also a girl name that means “beautiful”
12. Tuân (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “twan” or “too-wan”) – “Obey,” “honor,” or “follow”

 

What Are Some Cute Vietnamese Names?

1. Am (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “am”) – Name that means “moon” or “lunar”
2. Bạc (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “bak”) – One-syllable girl name meaning “silver”
3. Bé (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “beh”) – “Doll” or “small”
4. Bướm (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “bu-om”) – Nature name that means “butterfly”
5. Quý (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “kwee” or “wee”) – “Treasured” or “precious” 
6. Tan (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “tah-oo”) – “New”; also a Turkish and Tswana – African name that means “lion”
7. Thùy (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “twee”) – “Friendship”

 

What Are Boy Vietnamese Names?

1. Anh Dung (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “an-dang” or “ieng-dang”) – “Strength” or “heroism”
2. Ba (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “bah”) – One-syllable boy name meaning “third’”
3. Bach (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “bak” or “bat”) – “Name of a mountain tree”; also a German boy name that means “someone who lives by the stream”
4. Danh (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “dzanh”) – “Famous” or “prestigious”
5. Đức (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “duk”) – “Moral” or “good”
6. Dung (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “dung”) – “Courageous”
7. Khánh (Vietnamese unisex name; pronounced as “kan,” “kehn,” or “khieng”) – Prince name that means “prince,” “celebrate,” or “resembling a precious stone”; also a Turkish and Arabic name, and can be spelled as “Khanh” or “Khann”

 

Popular & Favorite Vietnamese Girl Names

1. Bich (Sino-Vietnamese or Chinese-Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “bit” or “bik”) – “Jade gemstone” or “bluish-green color”; also spelled as “Bích”
2. Cát (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “kat” or “kak”) – “Lucky”
3. Chân (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “chun” or “chung”) – “Genuine”
4. Đào (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “dow”) – “Peach”
5. Hồng (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “huwngm”) – “Pink” and “rosy”
6. Ping (Sino-Vietnamese name girl name; pronounced as “ping”) – “Peaceful”
7. Thu (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “too”) – “Fall season”

 

Nonbinary & Gender-Neutral Vietnamese Names

1. Chánh (Vietnamese unisex name; pronounced as “chieng” or “chehn”) – “Chief”
2. Châu (Sino-Vietnamese unisex name; pronounced as “chow” or “chuw”) – “Pearl” or “gem”; also spelled as “Chau”
3. Lý (Vietnamese unisex name; pronounced as “lee”) – “Plum tree,” “lion,” or “reason”
4. Minh (Vietnamese unisex name; pronounced as “meen”) – “Bringer of light” or “a bright and clever person”

 

Unique & Rare Vietnamese Names

1. Cải (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “kie”) – “Greens”
2. Duyen (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “zween,” “yweeng,” or “d-ayehn”) – “Charming,” “fate,” or “graceful”
3. Ngoan (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “ngwan” or “ngwang”) – “Well-behaved”
4. Nguyêt (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “ngweet” or “ngweek”) – “Moon”
5. Nhiên (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “nyeen” or “nyeeng”) – “Correct”
6. Trieu (Vietnamese unisex name; pronounced as “true”) – “Tide” or “small wave”

 

Common Vietnamese Middle Names

1. Cà (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “kah”) – Middle name for girls meaning “first” or “eldest child”; also spelled as “Ca”
2. Công (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “kong”) – “Labor”
3. Liêm (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “lim”) – “Honest,” “clean,” or “upright”; also spelled as “Liem”
4. Thị (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “tay”) – “Single maiden”
5. Vân (Vietnamese unisex name; pronounced as “vun” or “vung”) – “Cloud”; also a Dutch, Scandinavian, and Greek name, and spelled “Van”

 

Beautiful Vietnamese Names

1. Bình (Vietnamese unisex name; pronounced as “bin” or “bing”) – “Peaceful,” “section,” or “jar”; also an Australian name and spelled as “Binh”
2. Cẩm Tú (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “kum-too”) – “Elegance”
3. Dep (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “dep”) – “Beautiful”
4. Hằng (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “hang”) – Angel name meaning “angel in the full moon”; also spelled as “Hang”
5. Kieu (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “kie-u” or “keew”) – Name that means “graceful,” “beloved,” “lovable,” “beautiful,” or “tall”
6. Mỹ (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “mee”) – “Beautiful”
7. Nga (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “nyah”) – “Beautiful”

 

Cool & Modern Vietnamese Names

1. Cao (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “kow”) – “Tall”
2. Thảo (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “taw”) – “Grass” and “herbs”
3. Trinh (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “ching” or “tin”) – “Virtuous,” “chaste,” or “loyal”

 

Nature-Inspired Vietnamese Names

1. Diep (Sino-Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “zeep” or “yeep”) – “Love of nature” or “leaf”
2. Dương (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “dzuang”) – Name that means “water” (the ocean) or a masculine name meaning “virile” or “manly”
3. Hai (Sino-Vietnamese unisex name; pronounced as “hh-ay”) – “Sea” or “ocean”
4. Hoa (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “hwa”) – “Flower”
5. Lan (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “lan” or “lang”) – Flower name that means “orchid,” “elegant,” or “mountain mist”; also an Australian and Chinese name
6. Liên (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “leen” or “leeng”) – Girl plant name that means “lotus flower” or “water lily”; also a Chinese name and spelled as “Lien”
7. Trai (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “try”) – “Oyster” 
8. Tuyết (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “tweet”) – “Snow”; also spelled as “Tuyet”

 

Adorable Vietnamese Names

1. Cảnh (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “kan,” “kehn,” or “kieng”) – “Landscape” or “scenery” 
2. Chún (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “chun”) – “Honest”
3. Hoàn (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “hwan” or “hwang”) – “Circle” or “Chinese soapberry”
4. Ngân (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “ngun” or “ngung”) – “Silver”
5. Thang (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “thang”) – “Victory” or “ladder”
6. Tuyến (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “tween” or “tweeng”) – “Angel,” “thread,” “line,” or “ray”; also spelled as “Tuyen” 

 

Mystical Vietnamese Names

1. Loan (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “lwan”) – “Mythological bird”
2. Long (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “long”) – “Dragon”
3. Phượng (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “fwung”) – “Phoenix,” “orientation,” or “direction”; also spelled as “Phuong”
4. Tiên (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “teen” or “teeng”) – “Immortal” or “fairy”; also spelled as “Tien”

 

Musical Vietnamese Names

1. Cadeo (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “kah-deh-yo”) – “Folk song”
2. Kèn (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “ken”) – “Double reed musical instrument similar to an oboe”

 

Vietnamese Nicknames

1. Chí (Vietnamese unisex name; pronounced as “chee”) – “Tree branch,” “twig,” “man with a purpose,” “pond,” or “older sister”; also an African, Chinese, and Japanese name
2. Huynh (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “who-win”) – “Older brother”; also a Chinese name

 

More Vietnamese Names From A To Z

Vietnamese Names Starting With A

1. An (Vietnamese unisex name; pronounced as “an” or “ang”) – “Peace,” “safety,” or “safe and secure”; also a Chinese and Spanish name

 

Vietnamese Names Starting With B

1. Bay (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “bye”) – “Born in July” or “fly”
2. Bian (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “bee-anh”) – “Hidden” or “secretive”; also a Japanese girl name meaning “beautiful” or “peaceful”
3. Bianh (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “bee-anh” or “bee-ang”) – “Average” or “piece”
4. Buu (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “boo”) – “Principle” or “guide”

 

Vietnamese Names Starting With C

1. Cais (gender-neutral; pronounced as “cays”) – “One who rejoices”
2. Cam (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “kam”) – “Orange fruit”
3. Cẩn (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “kun” or “kung”) – “Fine jade”
4. Chiêu (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “cheew”) – “Luminous”
5. Chim (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “cheem”) – “Bird”
6. Chính (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “cheen”) – “Just”
7. Cúc (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “kuwkp”) – “Chrysanthemum”
8. Cuong (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “kwaong”) – “Flourishing” or “healthy”

 

Vietnamese Names Starting With D

1. Dân (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “zun” or “yung”) – “People” or “nation”
2. Dang (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “zang” or “yang”) – “Valuable” or “prestige”; also an Indo-European name
3. Dậu (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “zow”) – “Rooster”
4. Diễm (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “zeem” or “yeem”) – “Beautiful” or “jewel”
5. Điền (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “deen” or “deeng”) – “Wide and boundless water”
6. Dieu (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “zeew” or “yeew”) – “Exquisite,” “mysterious,” or “subtle”
7. Đình (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “din” or “ding”) – “Courtyard”
8. Due (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “zo-wey” or “yo-way”) – “Virtuous”
9. Duong (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “zoo-ung” or “ yoo-ung”) – “Virile”

 

Vietnamese Names Starting With G

1. Gia (Vietnamese unisex name; pronounced as “ya” or “za”) – “Excellent” or “family”; also spelled as “Gya,” “Gyah,” or “Giah”
2. Gian (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “yaahng” or “zaahng”) – “Gift from God”; also a Hebrew name
3. Giang (Vietnamese unisex name; pronounced as “yang” or “zang”) – “River”

 

Vietnamese Names Starting With H

1. Hà (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “hah”) – “River”
2. Hao (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “how”) – “Brave” or “heroic”
3. Hien (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “heen” or “hi-en”) – “Gentle,” “quiet,” or “kind”; famous people with this name include Emperor Le Hien Tong
4. Huệ (Vietnamese unisex name; pronounced as “hweh,” “way,” or “hway”) – “Bright,” “intelligent,” or “tuberose flower”; famous people with this name include Nguyễn “Hue,” the second emperor of Vietnam’s Tây Sơn dynasty
5. Hung (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “hoong”) – “Hero”; also a Chinese name that means “wonderful”
6. Huy (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “hwee”) – “Glorious”
7. Huyen (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “hwyun” or “wyung”) – “Mysterious,” “deep,” or “black”
8. Hoàng (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “hwang”) – “Royal”

 

Vietnamese Names Starting With K

1. Kha’n (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “kaan” with a raising tone) – “Audience” or “prince”; also a Turkish name
2. Khôi (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “koy”) – “Leader” or “precious stone”
3. Khuyen (Vietnamese unisex name; pronounced as “kween”) – “To give advice”
4. Kim-Ly (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “kim-lee”) – “Golden lion”
5. Kính (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “kin” or “king”) – “Respect” or “honor”
6. Kỳ (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “kee”) – “Good luck”

 

Vietnamese Names Starting With L

1. Lam (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “lam”) – “Blue,” “indigo,” or “jungle or dense forest”
2. Lanh (Vietnamese unisex name; pronounced as “lan,” “lehn,” or “lieng”) – “Happy,” “good,” “gentle,” “smart,” “quick,” or “favorable”; also an Australian name
3. Lap (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “lap”) – “Independent”
4. Lệ (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “lay” or “leh”) – “Beautiful”
5. Linh (Vietnamese unisex name; pronounced as “ling” or “lin”) – “Soul” or “spirit”
6. Liễu (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “leew”) – “Willow”
7. Lôc (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “lewkp”) – “luck, blessings”
8. Lương (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “lwung”) – “Virtuous”

 

Vietnamese Names Starting With M

1. Mai (Sino-Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “mie”) – “Plum,” “tomorrow,” “future,” “apricot,” or “plum blossom”
2. Manh (Sino-Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “man”) – “Strong” and “powerful”
3. Mây (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “my”) – “Cloud” or “lucky” if spelled as “May”

 

Vietnamese Names Starting with N

1. Năm (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “nam”) – “Five”
2. Ngải (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “nigh” or “nie”) – “Sagebrush” or “wormwood”
3. Nhân (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “nyun” or “nyung”) – “Benevolence”
4. Nhat (Sino-Vietnamese unisex name; pronounced as “nat”) – “To shine,” “long life,” or “number one”; also a name that means “the sun”
5. Nhi (Vietnamese girl name; ”nyee”) – “Child”
6. Nhung (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “nyuwngm”) – “Velvet”

 

Vietnamese Names Starting With O

1. Oánh (Vietnamese unisex name; pronounced as “oh-wun” or “wieng”) – “Oriole (a type of bird),” “bright,” or “lustrous”; also spelled as “Oanh”

 

Vietnamese Names Starting With P

1. Phong (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “fung” or “feng”) – “Wind”; also a Cantonese Chinese name
2. Phúc (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “fuwkp”) – “Happiness” or “good fortune” 
3. Phung (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “foong”) – “Phoenix”

 

Vietnamese Names Starting With Q

1. Quân (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “kwan”) – Vietnamese word name meaning “Army”
2. Quang (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “kwang”) – “Bright,” “clear,” or “brilliant”
3. Quoc (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “kwock” or “kwak”) – “Country” or “nation”
4. Quyền (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “kween” or “weeng”) – Girl name that means “beautiful,” “a kind of bird, or “graceful”; also spelled as “Quyen”

 

Vietnamese Names Starting With R

1. Ritchell (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “rit-chell”) – “Gross”

 

Vietnamese Names Starting With S

1. Sangh (Vietnamese unisex name; pronounced as “xang”) – “Belonging to an upper class” or “from the nobility”
2. Si (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “see”) – “Being a gentleman”; also a Swedish, Chinese, and Thai name
3. Sinh (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “seen”) – “Full of life,” “birth,” or “blooming”
4. Sơn (Vietnamese unisex name; pronounced as “sahn”) – “Mountain”; also a Korean name that means “gentle” and can be spelled as “Son”
5. Suong (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “soong” or “swoong”) – “Mist,” “haze,” or “fog”; also an Australian name 

 

Vietnamese Names Starting With T

1. Tai (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “thigh”) – “Talented” or “prosperous”; also a Chinese boy name that means “vast”
2. Thi (Sino-Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “tee”) – “Poem,” “family,” or “verse”
3. Thuần (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “tu-wan”) – “Pure,” “simple,” or “clean”
4. Thuong (Vietnamese unisex name; pronounced as “thoo-wong”) – “One who loves tenderly”; it can also be used as a pet name for a loved one
5. Trang (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “chang”) – “Adornment”
6. Trúc (Vietnamese unisex name; pronounced as “tsuk” or “chook”) – “Bamboo”; also spelled as “Truc”

 

Vietnamese Names Starting With U

1. Uoc (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “uwo-kah”) – “Wishes”
2. Ut (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “oot”) – “Last”

 

Vietnamese Names Starting With V

1. Viên (Vietnamese boy name; pronounced as “ven” or “yen”) – “Completion”
2. Vinh (Sino-Vietnamese unisex name; pronounced as “vin,” “ving,” or “yin”) – “Glory” or “gulf”
3. Vuong (boy) – “Prosperous” or “developed”

 

Vietnamese Names Starting With X

1. Xuân (Sino-Vietnamese unisex name; pronounced as “swun,” “swung,” “shwen,” or “soon”) – “Spring”; it can also be spelled as “Xuan” and has nicknames such as “Xuan–Xuan”

 

Vietnamese Names Starting With Y

1. Yên (Vietnamese girl name; pronounced as “een” or “eeng”) – “Peace” or “serene”; also a Thai girl name and can be spelled as “Yen”

 

Bonus: The Most Common Vietnamese Last Names

• Bui
• Ong
• Tran

 

Vietnamese Name Structure & Convention

Do Vietnamese Have Three Names?

Most Vietnamese have three names that follow the following format: FAMILY NAME + MIDDLE NAME + GIVEN NAME instead of the regular English name order of FIRST NAME + MIDDLE NAME + LAST NAME.

 

Ways To Use Vietnamese Names

Use the third name (given name) to informally address the person, while you can use the one that appears first (actual family name) for a more formal address.

 

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You can also find ideas from the top 15 baby name generators.

 

Baby Name Lists By Letter

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• Boy names starting with J
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• Boy names that start with L
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Other Baby Name Meanings

• Andrew name meaning
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References

(1) https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/vietnamese-immigrants-united-states