Nguyen (surname)

Nguyễn
Family name
Chữ Hán for Nguyễn
Pronunciation	[ŋʷǐˀən] or [ŋʷĩəŋ]
Language(s) of origin	Vietnamese
Related names	Ruan

Nguyễn is the most common Vietnamese family name. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as Nguyen. Vietnamese pronunciations between south and north are similar, except for the distinct tone between the two dialects.

By some estimates forty percent of Vietnamese people have this surname.

The name is most likely derived from a Chinese surname. Nguyễn is the Vietnamese transliteration of the Chinese surname (), which is often transliterated as Ruan in Mandarin, Yuen in Cantonese,Gnieuh /ɲɥø¹³/ in Wu Chinese, or Nguang in Hokchew.

Many events in Vietnamese history have contributed to the name's prominence. In 1232, after usurping the Lý Dynasty, Trần Thủ Độ forced the descendants of the Lý to change their surname to Nguyễn. When Hồ Quý Ly overturned the Trần Dynasty, he killed many of their descendants so when the Hồ Dynasty collapsed in 1407, many of his descendants changed their surname to Nguyễn in fear of retribution. In 1592, on the collapse of the Mạc Dynasty, their descendants changed their surname to Nguyễn. When the Nguyễn Dynasty (the descendants of the Nguyễn Lords) took power in 1802, some of the descendants of the Trịnh Lords fearing retribution changed their surname to Nguyễn, while others fled north into China. The Nguyễn Dynasty awarded many people the surname Nguyễn during their rule, and many criminals also changed their surname to Nguyễn to avoid prosecution. As with other common surnames, people having this surname are not necessarily related.

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