Southeast Asian Baby Names

LIKE MANY immigrant groups before them, many recent immigrants from Southeast Asia have adopted the practice of taking an "American" name to use in addition to their native name. Thus today, babies born in America to Vietnamese parents are often given an American name in conjunction with a Vietnamese name. The Vietnamese use three names. The surname is written first, followed by a middle name and an individual name. Girls are generally given pretty, flowery names and names indicative of morality and respect. Boys' names often represent intelligence and strength of character. Much of Cambodia's culture was borrowed from India in the 1st century A.D., when the kingdom of Funan was founded. Today, nearly 90 percent of Cambodians are Buddhists, and religion is one of the main sources of personal names. Early epithets of the Buddha, and words representing qualities highly regarded in Buddhism, such as morality and good conduct, are commonly incorporated into Cambodian names. Nature is another popular theme on which to base a child's name.