Why is Nguyen the most common family name in Vietnam?

According to a recent survey of the site theworldgeoraphy.com, 40% of Vietnamese have Nguyen as family name.

"Nguyen" is today the name the more common among the families of Vietnamese origin, even more than the smiths in the USA. Contrary to the Westerners, there are very few patronymics in Vietnam.

These are the names of the royal lines since their origins. There is about 160 patronymics reported among Viets. The name Nguyen is the most common name among the Vietnamese.

The name evokes the last royal dynasty of Vietnam (1802-1945), a dynasty where the rulers had the habit of giving their name to all who were under their service.

At the time, the Vietnamese surname was adopted not only as a form of submission or fear of reprisals, it was adopted because it was something honorable and it was also a way to express their admiration and loyalty to the leaders.

The name "Nguyen", with a different intonation can mean "first, intact and original".

Although it is estimated that 40% of Vietnamese have Nguyen as their surname, the majority of them have no family ties.

That is why, every Vietnamese must have two names, the first name being a kind of surname before their main name that distinguishes people with the same surname, but no relation. Therefore, everyone of the same gender that formed part of the same family had the same "first name".

Previously, the first name often had an aesthetic function. "Van" was often chosen for boys because it means literature (which was exclusively for boys). "Thi", on the other hand, has a feminine connotation because the name brings to mind sweetness and kindness.

Although it's a little bit off topic, there was another tendency created at the same time. When the proportion of infant mortality was very high, some people decided to give to their children the ugliest possible names so that the devils did not want to take them in hell.

Nowadays, the parents choose attractive first names which express their dream for their children. Every first name has a precise meaning and summarizes the fate wished for their children. Frequently, they will favor the flowers, or things that is usually defined as beautiful, or sweet for the girls, while the names given to the boys often represent the strength, the intelligence, the virtue, etc.