ВОПРОСЫ ОНОМАСТИКИ | PROBLEMS OF ONOMASTICS

Khoa Nguyen-Viet
Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam

EXPLORING VIETNAMESE GIVEN NAMES: THE ONOMASTICON OF A TONAL LANGUAGE

For citation
Nguyen-Viet, K. (2025). Exploring Vietnamese Given Names: The Onomasticon of a Tonal Language. Voprosy onomastiki, 22(3), 84–100. https://doi.org/10.15826/vopr_onom.2025.22.3.030

Received on 23 November 2024
Accepted on 28 March 2025

Abstract: In Vietnamese, every given name is not only a word but also a tone, where pitch contour carries as much meaning as semantics or grammar. Vietnamese given names (VGNs) intertwine linguistic form with cultural meaning, functioning as both identifiers and reflections of social values. Unlike naming systems that privilege surnames, Vietnamese practices foreground given names, which derive directly from common words and retain both semantic content and tonal identity. This study proposes a dual classification of VGNs, integrating semantic categories (nature, virtues, human traits) with grammatical classes from which the names are derived (nouns, adjectives, verbs, numerals), and demonstrates how tones enrich and differentiate each dimension. Analysis of a dataset of 878,338 university entrance examination candidates (2006) shows that tonal variation distinguishes otherwise identical proprial forms, as in Hương (derived from the noun ‘scent’, mid-level tone) vs Hưởng (derived from the verb ‘enjoy’, high-rising broken tone). Such contrasts expand the onomasticon while ensuring communicative clarity. The findings further reveal sociolinguistic dimensions: rising tones are culturally linked with masculinity, falling tones with femininity; disyllabic two-tone names have become especially prevalent among females, marking a generational shift; and numeral names in Southern Vietnam illustrate how tones embed naming within kinship and regional identity. By situating this taxonomy within Vietnam’s isolating, tonal language system, the study highlights tone as not merely phonological but a cultural resource that structures naming creativity, identity, and belonging, offering new insights for onomastics, linguistics, and cultural studies.

Keywords: Vietnamese; anthroponymy; given names; tonal language; pitch pattern; cultural symbolism; naming practices

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