I went to school with a large Vietnamese population. I think there were dozens of kids that had the surname Nguyen and I remember the teacher going down the list at graduation and it was like a never-ending stream of Nguyens.

The most common reason is the people changed their names to Nguyen to avoid execution throughout the long history. In Vietnam people are called by their first names more, even in formal situations, so same surnames is not really a problem. There are no law in Vietnam to forbid people with same last names to marry to each others.

Every Vietnamese person I know has the last name Nguyen. My two friends got married and they had the same last name, Nguyen, so that made things easy! My old boss’s first name was Nguyen!

It is actually very well documented in Vietnam history books why Nguyen is the most common surname. Firstly, when the Tran dynasty took over the Ly dynasty, the Tran emperor claimed that they have an ancestor with the name Tran Ly. It is forbidden to have any word that sounds the same as the emperor's ancestor, thus, all the Lys were forced to change their surname to Nguyen. The surname Wong in Northern Vietnam is Hoang, but in Southern Vietnam is Huynh, because there was an ancestor of the Nguyen dynasty who goes by the name of Nguyen Hoang, so all the Hoang became Huynh in Southern Vietnam. As the north is not under their control, they continue to retain the surname Hoang. The second wave of increase was after the founding of the Quang Nam kingdom by the Nguyen. They took many lands from the Cham, the Laos and the Cambodians. All those who bowed to the power of the Quang Nam kingdom were given the surname Nguyen. Notably，the last few rulers of Champa before the kingdom was abolished were having the surname Nguyen.

About 100 years ago in Sweden, people were still using the 'father's first name + -sson/sdotter' system. Almost everyone was called Eriksson / Andersson / Karlssdotter / Olofsdotter etc, with some exceptions. You'd also get family trees with an Erik Olofsson followed by an Olof Eriksson followed by another Erik Olofsson and so on for generations and generations. At that point, the government decided that everyone in the same family should have the same last name, so that practice ended. But there were still way too many Erikssons and such, it was almost impossible to keep a census. So they gave payouts to families that would change to less common last names. People would picked the father's trade name, their village name or something related to plants or geography for example. Now the situation is much more manageable.

❤from Vietnam The Nguyen Phuc clan in Hue was the most powerful clan in Vietnam for 400 years. They established the last dynasty in Vietnam, so the Vietnamese changed their surname to resemble the king. I have been watching Asian boss for a long time and this is the 2nd time there is a clip in Vietnam. I was quite surprised because there are quite a lot of North Central coast accents in the video.

I love that the young lady in the pink dress also has the information the previous older gentleman had. Culture and history are still being passed down well. Love the white fuzzy microphone, too.

The explanation about the Nguyễn King is probably the most accurate (as I have read somewhere as well) When a new dynasty took over, they would massacre all descendants of the previous King based on their last name. That's why people have to change their last names to protect themselves. Since Nguyễn King was the last dynasty, there was no more massacre afterward, so people didn't have to change their last names again. Until now, Nguyễn has been multiplied to an incredible number 🤣 And I have the most common last name - the most common first name in Vietnam. At my workplace, there are 3 of us who have the same last name and first name 🙃

Loved this interview in Vietnam! Really liked, how the name and its history was opened up massively, as a Vietnamese person abroad!👌

What a beautiful language… every person sounds like they’re singing

i would love to see more vietnamese content, and maybe conducted in other regions (particularly the south c;) also I don't really get why it was said that in english we call each other by surnames when we only do that towards people who are older, are our superiors, customers, or you're trying to be super polite.

This was very interesting and insightful for a Vietnamese Australian. More Vietnamese content please :)

This was interesting! I grew up in Garden Grove, CA, which has a huge Vietnamese population and is next door to Westminster, home of Orange County's Little Saigon. Always wondered why every Vietnamese person I knew had one of about 5 last names. Same thing with Korean names, which are prevalent in my neck of the woods.

Finally some Vietnamese content, it's a part of Asia too u know

As someone with that surname born and raised in Montreal, Canada, I can confirm that (at least 15 years ago when telephone books where still in used), that surname outranks the common French Canadian name Tremblay in the city of Montreal.

This video was very interesting, my mother is a Spanish teacher and has often commented about the commonality of the name Nguyen. Sometimes she'll have a classroom full of Nguyen surnamed only students, lol. I even once asked if they were all related, or originated from the same region because of the oddity of it. In China, Korea and Japan it's more common to use a person last name. Vietnam is actually the first Asian country that I've heard of where first names are more widely used.

Finally we have ABoss in Vietnam

asian boss asking the right questions 👌

How to pronounce it... -Say the word "Penguin" -Break it down into two syllables "Peng Nguyen" -Say only the second syllable "Nguyen"

My last name is “Ngo” and no one can pronounce it I legit feel anxiety during attendance wondering how the teacher will butcher it this time 💀 Also the video is correct that all people are usually referred to by their first name regardless of kinship. So your teacher wouldn’t be Ms Evans, she’d be Ms Sara or “cô Sara.” For some reason this shocked me in kindergarten and I thought my teacher’s first name was “Black” for half the year.

I didn't know we had a large group of Vietnamese here in Mississippi. It's also our 3rd major language. Learning something new all the time and that's why I stay curious.

I love Vietnam. Greeting from S.Korea 😊

Loved this video. Vietnamese language is really pretty.

Kindia similar to korean last name thing little bit, considering that kim, lee, park are the most common 3 last names which has their own dynasty in korean peninsula(like nguyen in vietnam) or were being strong noble family.

Additionally, in Vietnam, 100 years ago, a mother used to be called by her first child’s name. For example, if her first child is Đức then her name will eventually changes into “Mẹ Đức”. Nowadays, the elders in the central part of Vietnam still use this system quite often. Come to Sài Gòn and you’ll have a broader perspective of how “Nguyễn” is the most common surname in Vietnam. The information provided by these people in the video somehow wasn’t truly correct but their own thoughts.

Vietnamese are brave people. I remember when they destroyed American army. Love from Yemen

Yo, I love how excited homegirl was to report on this subject! I was so pumped to hear more because she was leading the way 😂👍🏼.

Very interesting! I don't know too much about Asia as I have never been there. That's why I like this channel because it gives me great insight into the different cultures.

"Vietnamese people marry each other because it's a Nguyen-Nguyen situation" -Ken Jeong

The last name "Nguyen" in Vietnam is the same as "Kim" in Korea or "Suzuki" in Japan

Aloha! Thank you! History of why people changed their name in order to survive was an eye opener! Thank you!

Not just Nguyens, *Tran, Pham, Phan, Le, Hoang* I'm missing some...xinh loi🙏😂

The most needed light hearted interview 😉... refreshing.

More episodes from Vietnam please. 🙏

i believe the surname Nguyen is written 阮 before Vietnam abandon Chinese writing, there are many Chinese and Taiwanese shares the same surname as well, dunno where and how it originated but i think there are not related no more, on the other hand, I heard that the Lee and Kong Clan in Korea thinks their clan orginated from China, maybe Nguyen and Lee and Kong has something to do with Chinese ancestry perhaps?

Back then people changed their surnames because they wanted to respect the kings, gain their favor, or just to honor them

When that one woman said, "We are equally confused" I felt that

Love this. More Vietnam content please!!!!

Somewhat cute, how eagerly the interviewer nods all the time. Very emphatic!

Very interesting piece, I have a superior with this surname. Thanks Asian Boss for creating different types of videos

It’s been a while since they made a Vietnam asian boss episode, and yes, I’m a Nguyen gang as well😅

viet nguyens 🤝 korean kims

I think there must be some connection between the Vietnamese "Nguyen" and the “阮” in Hakka language of Southern China, they sound quite close. that "Ng" pronunciation is kind of a symbol in Hakka and Cantonese. Tran is related to 陈 or 谭, Dung is related to 董, Ho is related to 何, if my guess is right.

I was told by my grandpa that our family's Nguyen last name was changed from Lee (Ly) few centuries back, and that still being kept in the family's tree record in my village.

omg i kinda hate that so many vietnamese people have this last name LMAO i had some girl bully me with that last name and now whenever i see it i get so panicked BUT SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE IT JKDFSKJF ty for this video!! what an interesting topic :o

I do have a neighbor here in the philippines that their surname is Nguyen. They are so kind to me, they treat me as their Little brother 🥰🥰🥰

Not sure about other families but in my family, I heard we were forced to as my ancestors were royal officials during the Nguyen dynasty. Some of us were willing in order to gain favors but some were forced to as well.

Thank you for this, it's interesting to know where it originated. I wonder how this'll evolve: the dropping of surnames/name changes becoming more common (which seems unlikely given the cultural background)

I'm Vietnamese, but my last name is 'Luu', but my sister is a 'Nguyễn'. Even though I've met a lot of other Vietnamese at my high school I went to - many of whom are 'Nguyễn', I also have a couple of Vietnamese friends whose last names are 'Tran' (Trần).

2:20 tôi không biết ai là người biên dịch của video này nhưng bạn đang bị thiếu kiến thức lịch sử. Bảo Đại không phải là tên của vua như bạn dịch là "first name" mà là niên hiệu (era name), còn tên của vua là Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy.

Asian Boss finally came to Vietnam

This was interesting, would love to see more content from/about South East Asian countries too

It is very interesting for me because we don't have surnames or family names. Most people just assumed that my first two names are surname or family name. It is very confusing for foreigners and hilarious at the same time.

The kids running around the tree in the background at 6:30. 🙂

I like to imagine that a long, long, time ago, a guy named Nguyen went around the country and had lots of kids. Also that their kids went on to have a lot of children too.

In Trung Quoc, we pronounce this character "ruǎn"（阮）.

Nice episode, thanks Asian Boss.

I really like this interviewer, she did a lovely job :D

We need more content on Vietnam, everytime I type vietnam I have wars videos😢

How about some common Chinese surnames in China? I would like to know why do so many Chinese people have a lot of Chen's, Wang's, Zhang's, and Liu's as their surnames.

In the US certain part of the country some people have 2 first names like Vietnamese people from New Orleans always have 2 first names - Thao-Mi, Hoai-Nhi, Thuyet-Nhi, Thao-Vy etc so their full names are pretty Long for example: Thao-Mi Hong Tran where as people from California its just a First and a Last name like Tuan Vu , Khang Vu , Phong Vo , Minh Nguyen , Nhi Le etc. Also Vietnamese people living in the USA with English names make their names even longer Example : " Stephanie Thao-Mi Nhi Nguyen " or Johnathan Tuan Quoc Vu but then you also have people with names like John Vu , Stephanie Nguyen , Lilian Tran even though their Vietnamese names arnt Documented as a legal name at home their Parents will call them by a Vietnamese name that they have

As a Chinese even I don't understand Vietnamese, I can tell that the Vietnamese people interviewed said that the most popular surname in Vietnam are (姓）阮，（姓）武，（姓）黎，etc.

Would like more Viet content, please 🙏 I'd like to learn more about my parents' country, as it is now

We’re used to hearing the southern accent since we’re from the States. Next time in Vietnam it would be interesting to see another city besides Northern.

More Vietnamese interviews, please!

Thank you very much for this video. Tomorrow I have an interview with a Vietnamese person and it is really helpful for me, I understand and know more about your culture. Really interesting!

I’m a Nguyen living in Canada married to a Tran. My wife kept her last name. However, my children will carry the Nguyen dynasty forever!

阮 in Vietnam，金（kim）in korean

MORE VIET CULTURE PLEASE !!

this is the first Asian boss's video I don't even need to read the subtitle

More interviews from Vietnam, pleeeeeease:)))

I think it's pretty cool in itself that there is SO MANY people with the same surname, ignoring the cause of it. It's just rly unique and cool.

Some people in my country thinking Vietnam is south-east asian bcz ASEAN association, but at the same time alot people also thinking Vietnam is East-Asia bcz they culture are kinda related

My Sur name is ngô. Thank Asian boss for making video about my country.

That gentleman is very astute... and he knew about that three generation thing. Am very surprised that he knows such things ! ..... We have a similar phrasing in cantonese too. "1st generation are cousins, 2nd generation are cute, 3rd generation is distant"....

Well about the pronunciation "Nguyễn" ít depends on the place you are because there are a lot of variations talking about the way vietnamese people pronounce their alphabet and words

The Nguyen is translated in 阮ruan in chinese. and Tran is 陈 chen.

Asian boss your videos are fun and informative 👍.

Hands down the most fascinating and difficult language I've ever heard. And I study Chinese xD

What language is this please ? 😍 Its so sweet !

Many foreigners pronounce "Nguyen" as Ngu Yen (2 syllables), the correct pronunciation should be one syllable " Nguin" .

When studying and working in the UK, I noticed that first names are used for pretty much all (university) teachers , colleagues and bosses! I think only in formal situations you would use Mr./Ms. [Surname].

In Sweden (and I would guess in the other nordic countries as well) it is not common to address people with the last name, even teachers and company bosses. But in the military there we address each other with the last name.

More vietnam content please! :))

yay for street interivews in vietnam!!!

阮for Vietnamese and 金(kim) for Koreans.

Vetnamese is a beautiful lamguage 😻 Everyone sound like they are singing!!

Hey do you know Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese have the same last name Do. It means exactly the same.

More vietnamese content please!

I’m not Vietnamese, but even I could tell the cameraman’s pronunciation was off. Those two guys were just being really nice. 😂

Who is the reporter ? She is amazing.

Interesting. I thought Dung was pronounced “Doong”. Had no idea it sounded closer to “Zoong”

Calling a person by their first name is not impolite in the whole West. In Brazil, Portugal, and other Portuguese-speaking countries we almost never call people by their surname.

I'm a Vietnamese started with "Nguyễn" too. What a topic 🤯

Another informative video from Asian Boss. I have a lot of neighbors with the surname Nguyen and I stumble over the pronunciation a lot.

Interesting! I am always much more concerned with making sure I am pronouncing Nguyen correctly 😊

to be fair most overseas viets are southern and so the pronunciation is quite different, I feel as though choosing southern speakers would have been a better representation for foreigners to learn how to pronounce the name.

Nguyen was the last dynasty in Vietnam, that’s why. Did you know at one point in Vietnam, the most popular last names were from the Han and Tang dynasty?

The origin of surname Nguyen 阮 (ruan3) from China. Today surname Nguyen Ruan 阮 in China is very rare

My Vietnamese last name is Vo but people keep on reverting Vo to Vu when I was younger. Vo is common too, right?