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    • 1801 map of Southeast Asia
    1801 map of Southeast Asia.

    Southeast Asian surnames reveal a remarkable array of languages, civilizations, and colonial pasts. The region comprises nations with long-standing naming customs, such as Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar, as well as others where surnames were just recently standardized or were influenced by other cultures.

    Southeast Asian surnames naming conventions

    Chinese culture and Confucian customs had a significant influence on surnames in Vietnam. With Nguyen making up about 40% of the population, names like Nguyen, Tran, and Dinh are common. Vietnamese names are arranged as in East Asia: given name comes after surname. Only in the early 1900s, by royal edict, were surnames formally introduced in Thailand. In order to avoid duplication, the majority of Thai surnames are lengthy and specific to each family, like Shinawatra, Chaiyaporn and Pibulsonggram. Thai naming conventions continue to heavily rely on patronymics and honorifics.

    Surnames were traditionally not used in Myanmar (Burma). Their given names, which frequently correspond to the day of the week they were born, are used instead. Surnames are still uncommon, however they are occasionally adopted these days, particularly in official settings. Filipino surnames retain a lot of Spanish influence, with García, Ramos, Reyes and dela Cruz among the most common, with a similar pattern in Timor Leste having Portuguese surnames among the most common ones, like Guterres, Da Costa, Pereira and Soares.

    Due to the region's cultural richness, Southeast Asian surnames are a challenging topic for genealogy research because of the Malay, Khmer, Filipino, and Indonesian naming systems, which include Indigenous, Islamic, Spanish, Dutch, or Indian influences.

    See also

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