Vietnam’s Nguyen family name most common in the world | Look At Vietnam

Vietnam’s Nguyen family name most common in the world

March 1, 2012

LookAtVietnam – This family name of Vietnam is among the most ten common family names in the world. Nguyen is the surname of around 40 percent of Vietnam’s population, according to Theworldgeography.com.
Below are the ten most popular surnames in the world:
1. Li or Lee – over 100 million people
This is a popular family name in China, with around 7.9 percent of the population having that surname.
A Korean surname that uses the same Chinese character, which is often Romanized as Lee, is the second most common Korean surname, after Kim. Both the Korean family name Lee and the Vietnamese family name Lý was derived from the same Chinese character as the Chinese surname.
Taken collectively, these surnames make Li the most common surname in the world.
2. Zhang – around 100 million people
The World Guinness Record Book published in 1990 recognized that Zhang is the most popular surname in the world. In early 2006, the Chinese Academy of Sciences ranked Zhang as the three most popular surnames in this country. This surname has been used for over 4,000 years.
3. Wang – over 93 million people
Wang is also one of the most popular surnames in China, with nearly 93 million people. In English, this word means King. This surname is also used in South Korea, Japan and Vietnam (Vuong).
4. Nguyen – over 36 million people
Nguyen is the most popular family name in Vietnam, with around 40 percent of the population. Due to migration, Nguyen has come to Australia and becomes the seventh most popular surname there. In France, it ranks 54th and 57th in the USA, as well as the most common exclusively Asian surname.
5. Garci­a – more than 10 million people

García is a surname common throughout the Americas, the Philippines and Spain. There are several theories about its origin and history, but it is probably of Basque origin. The meaning points to the descriptive adjective ’the young’. García is the most common surname in Spain (where 3.32% of population is named García) and also the second most common surname in Cuba. 4.1 million people in Mexico has the last name Garcia.
6. Gonzales – more than 10 million people

González is a family name that originated in Spain. In Spain, it is the second most common surname (only after García) with 2.08% of the population bearing the surname. It’s also very popular in Latin America, being the most common one in countries like Argentina, Chile, Venezuela and Paraguay, and thus making it the most popular surname in the Spanish speaking world. Within the United States, it is ranked as the 23rd most common surname.

7. Hernandez – more than 8 million people
Hernández is a Spanish and Portuguese surname that came into common use around the 15th century. Originally a patronymic (a component of a personal name based on the name of one’s father, grandfather or an even earlier male ancestor), it means son of Hernán or sometimes son of the traveler. This surname occurs mostly in Mexico, USA, Chile, Spain, Cuba…
8. Smith – more than 4 million people
Smith is an English family name (surname) originating in England. It is the most common surname in the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States, the second most common surname in Canada, and the fifth most common surname in Ireland. The surname Smith is particularly prevalent among those of English and Irish descent, but is also a common surname among African Americans, which can be attributed to black slaves adopting the name during the era of slavery and after the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. At least 3 million people in the United States share the surname Smith, and more than 500,000 people share it in the United Kingdom.
9. Smirnov – more than 2.5 million people
According to the 2002 population census, Smirnov (masculine) or Smirnova (feminine) is the most common surname in Russia. Variants of transliteration: Smirnoff or Smyrnov. Derived from an adjective smirnyy, that means “quiet, still, meek, gentle”.
10. Miller – more than million people
The German word Müller means “miller” (as a profession). It is the most common family surname in Germany and Switzerland, the fifth most common surname in Austria and the first most common surname in the French départements Bas-Rhin and Moselle (with the spelling Müller or Muller). Other forms are “Miller” (mainly Southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and “Möller” (Northern and Central Germany and The Netherlands). Of the various family crests that exist, many incorporate milling iconography, such as windmills or watermill wheels.
TV

Devoted Documentaries

Patriotism is not only manifested in wartime; it is also prevalent even in the simple acts of peacetime,” he says.

The 47-year-old documentary filmmaker is currently working on Di tim dau tich ba vua (Tracing the Roots of Three Kings), a historical journal exalting three Nguyen kings – Ham Nghi, Thanh Thai and Duy Tan – for their resistance to French colonialism.

The Nguyen Dynasty was Vietnam’s last feudal regime, ruling from 1802 to 1945.

King Ham Nghi, who ruled from 1884 to 1885, refused to let the French manipulate Vietnam as had several “puppet” kings installed and propped up by the colonists.

In 1885, King Ham Nghi renounced the throne and moved to a resistance outpost in the countryside.

He initiated the Can Vuong (Aid the King) movement, the country’s first nationwide anti-French campaign.


“Film is a good way to pay tribute to our predecessors whose patriotism and sacrifice are still greatly admired”: Director Dao Anh Dung

The king was apprehended by the French in 1888 and exiled to Algeria, where he lived until his death at the age of 71 in 1943.

King Thanh Thai, who reigned from 1889 to 1907, also worked for the liberation of his country and feigned insanity to escape the constant scrutiny of French spies.

The king was captured by French forces while traveling to support a resistance movement.

He was declared insane and forced to abdicate.

But his son, King Duy Tan, proved difficult to control for the French and he outdid his father’s work in the anti-French movement during his years on the throne, from 1907 to 1916.

The French sent both father and son to colonial authorities on Reunion Island, near Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, in 1916 – where several of Vietnam’s revolutionary heroes were jailed at one time or another.

“Film is a good way to pay tribute to our predecessors whose patriotism and sacrifice are still greatly admired,” said Dung, whose great grandfather was a war martyr in the Can Vuong uprising.

The 60-episode series is scheduled to begin airing on HTV in October.

Dung’s film Nguoi ho xung phong giua thoi binh (One Who Shouts “Attack!” in Peacetime) has received high critical acclaim.

The documentary centers on Le Dinh Toan, a poor veteran afflicted with war-related post-traumatic stress problems.

He would scurry about “charging” at imaginary enemies during his sleepless nights.

His mother, an old woman widowed by the war and also tormented by violent memories, was his only comrade during his nightly fights.

Toan died shortly after the documentary was released.

“For Toan, his mother and many others like them, war wounds never actually heal,” Dung said.

He has recently dedicated much of his time to making documentaries about overseas Vietnamese, beginning with Ky su Tan Dao (Journal of the New Islands.)

The documentary traces the history of Vietnamese who settled on the Vanuatu and New Caledonia islands in the South Pacific, when they were French-British colonies in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The film explores the lives of today’s Vietnamese on the islands and their deep affection for their home country.

“Due to historical upheavals, a number of people had to migrate to other countries,” he said.

“But I strongly believe wherever they are, expatriate Vietnamese always hold their homeland close to their hearts,” the director said.

Ky su Tan Dao is also the first in a series on expatriate Vietnamese produced by HCMC Television.

Making of an auteur

Dung was born in Hanoi in 1961 and finished high school there.

He graduated in history from the University of Education in Ho Chi Minh City and worked as a history teacher at a military school in neighboring Dong Nai Province as well as at his alma mater.

His life changed dramatically when he decided to be a filmmaker.

Dung then returned to Hanoi to study film directing before finding work with HCMC Television in 1990.

A cameraman for 15 years, he worked on many documentaries including Qua nhung dong kenh den (Polluted Canals) and Nguoi Cham An Giang (The Cham People of An Giang), both of which won awards given by the Vietnam Motion Picture Association.

As a director, his other notable documentaries include Da thuc (Waking Rock) and Do doc song Thu (The Skiff on the Thu River).

“A practiced cameraman himself, Dung’s films always have outstanding camerawork,” said Nguyen Viet Hung, director of the HCMC Television Series company (TFS).

He added that Dung’s history teaching background coupled with his proficiency in math enabled him to structure his films seamlessly.

“Above all, it’s his great dedication and hard work that have guaranteed his success,” Hung added.

Dung believes that documentaries must be unique.

“With a fresh perspective, the director can add originality to an old tale,” he said, citing Di tim dau tich ba vua as an example.

The director added that succinctness and simplicity also give a documentary lasting appeal.

Trained by his father, Dao Anh Kha – a distinguished linguist and Vietnam’s first attendee of the International Esperanto Academy – since he was a child, Dung also has remarkable language skills and writes all the commentary in his films.

Reported by Vinh Nguyen