Classic Vietnamese names, Suggestions? Options

[XigonCongchua]

This thread is a continue of the name discussion in this thread
http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/index.php?...20&start=20

I'm looking for classic Vietnamese names for guys.

If you have suggestions, list them here please.

List as many as possible. But don't use those that sound too modern (like Mạnh Tuấn, Anh Khoa, Tiến Đạt for examples)



I don't need girl names as much but you can also suggest some too (I'll use them for the minor characters)

[Boron]

武元甲

[XigonCongchua]

^ Võ Nguyên Giáp? No.

[Boron]

what do you mean by "classic name"? please have some kind of definition for it.

[XigonCongchua]

Names that don't sound modern.

You know how certain names are more popular in certain periods but not in others.

In Vietnam there are certain names that sound popular today but not back in the 17th century.

Things like Anh Tuấn 英俊, Dũng Tiến 勇進, Minh Trí 明智 ... seem kinda common today but rarely seen back in the 16th-17th century.

It's hard to pinpoint which ones sound modern and which ones don't. You just have to put the words together and sound them out and see if they sound modern.

[Boron]

what are some examples of 16-17th century names?

are you writing some story that you need to think of names?

maybe classical names are more based on family relations, such as 征侧，征贰

This post has been edited by Boron: Feb 3 2012, 04:04 PM

[XigonCongchua]

Of course I said in the other thread that I'm writing a novel with a setting in the Trịnh - Nguyễn war.


It's hard to say...You just know when something sounds classic.

Like Duy Kỳ 維祺 sounds classic to me, but Duy Quang 維光 sounds modern.


Sometimes it depends on perception too...

If I can easily come up with a nice classic sounding name for guys then I wouldn't ask

Just throw out a bunch of good names and I'll see.


Freeter and daxas suggested Trấn Nguyên, Hoàng Khương, Huy Viễn...they sound classic yea (not overused by modern Vietnamese)...but they don't ring a nice tone of a fine gentleman to me

[YoungNguyenHue]

Didn't given names in the distant past only have 1 syllable? Or maybe that was way in the past, and 16th century people already had double syllable given names?

A writer like Gu Long gives all his characters really accurate names that describe the character 100% ( not very realistic )

But you seem to want to go for realism, with a name that doesn't necessarily fit the character. In that case, the best thing to do might be to read genealogies and single out names from the era you want.

Not sure how hard it is to find 16th century genealogies. When I saw my family tree it the earliest names went back to the 1800s

[Boron]

real people from 18-19th century
丁琏

矫公羡

黄花探 (literally, guy who picks up girls )

阮福明

阮光缵

these could be primarily upper class names though. I wonder how ordinary people named their sons?

[XigonCongchua]

Didn't given names in the distant past only have 1 syllable? Or maybe that was way in the past, and 16th century people already had double syllable given names?

A writer like Gu Long gives all his characters really accurate names that describe the character 100% ( not very realistic )

But you seem to want to go for realism, with a name that doesn't necessarily fit the character. In that case, the best thing to do might be to read genealogies and single out names from the era you want.

Not sure how hard it is to find 16th century genealogies. When I saw my family tree it the earliest names went back to the 1800s

Sometimes they have one syllable, sometimes two.

The sons have King Trần Thái Tông 陳太宗 are

Trần Hoảng 陳晃
Trần Quang Khải 陳光啓
Trần Nhật Duật 陳日燏
...

Others

Trần Nguyên Đán 陳元旦
Trần Khánh Dư 陳慶餘
Trần Nguyên Hãn 陳元扞
Phạm Ngũ Lão 范五老
Trần Thuyên 陳烇
Trần Khâm 陳昑
Trương Hán Siêu 張漢超
Lương Thế Vinh 梁世榮

Those are the 13th-14th century. You see lots have two syllables too.

real people from 18-19th century
丁琏

矫公羡

黄花探 (literally, guy who picks up girls )

阮福明

阮光缵

these could be primarily upper class names though. I wonder how ordinary people named their sons?

No >.<

BTW no Phúc 福 please.

That word is soooo overused by Nguyễn people that I'm sick of it

There's a legend that Nguyễn Hoàng's wife dreamed of something that involved the character 福 or something I forgot the exact story. So she used 福 as the middle name for her children and almost all descendants of Nguyễn Hoàng since then got 福 in their names...Until the 20th century that character 福 was still very common.

[Boron]

^why are you against prosperity and luck?!

why don't you write short bios for your characters, then we can name them.

This post has been edited by Boron: Feb 3 2012, 04:43 PM

[XigonCongchua]

Nothing against prosperity and luck. I just don't like overused names.


I can't reveal my plot...

[Boron]

have you heard of steampunk? it's historical fiction with modern science.
how about give your characters English names? there could be christians and communists, but it's all in the 17th century.

[XigonCongchua]

That's not the focus of the novel


What's ur name, Boron?

[Boron]

張漢超

[XigonCongchua]

LOL

I'm thinking of Hoài Gia (懷家) - missing one's home. But I think it's not masculine enough and it doesn't ring a nice tone to me.

[Boron]

it could be good if the person is born in the south but his family is from the north.

[nnas1]

Lol, I wonder if you guys actually know the han Tu, or if you were just using wiktionary.... My name isn't too common, sounds kind of like an old name ... 阮佳懿 Nguye^~n Gia Y'

[XigonCongchua]

Ý sounds feminine.

You must be kidding me - you có font chữ Hán mà không có font Quốc Ngữ nên phải đánh dấu như thế à?


I'm thinking of something to go with Viễn 遠 and Hà 遐. Cả hai đều có nghĩa là xa 賒

[Boron]

佳懿 means beautiful wishes of a noble woman.