Cambodian Last Name Generator

500 family names as they are carried in Cambodia, from Sok, Chea, Keo and Meas to Sino-Khmer names like Lim and Taing, Mekong Delta names like Thach, and given names such as Sophal that families use in the family-name slot. Each entry is one name by itself, in the usual Latin spelling.

About Cambodian last names

Cambodia does not hand down surnames the way Western countries do. Family names only became a legal requirement in the early twentieth century, under the French protectorate, and many families still give a child the father's or grandfather's given name as a family name, so the name in that slot can change from one generation to the next. It is written first, before the given name, and women usually keep theirs when they marry.

Most Khmer family names are a single syllable. Some are everyday words: Meas is gold, Prak is silver, Pich is diamond, Keo is crystal and Svay is mango. Others came with Chinese settlers, most of them Teochew speakers, which is where Lim, Tan, Taing, Ngov and Khov come from. Khmer families from the Mekong Delta often carry Thach, Danh or Lam, Cham Muslim families carry names like Math and Sos, and Norodom and Sisowath are the two branches of the royal house.

Longer entries such as Sophal, Samnang and Sovann are given names that families carry in the family-name slot, which is common among Cambodians abroad. Khmer has no single everyday romanization, so one name can turn up as Ouk or Uk, Pich or Pech, Vann or Van. The list keeps the common spellings and includes some of the variants.

How to choose Cambodian last names

• Put the family name first. A Cambodian character is Sok Dara at home and becomes Dara Sok only on Western forms.
• For a realistic family, try the father's given name as the child's family name: a man called Chea Sophal may well have a daughter named Sophal Bopha. Families that keep one fixed name across the generations are just as real, so either choice works.
• Pick one spelling and stay with it. Ouk and Uk, Pich and Pech, and Toch and Touch are the same Khmer names in different romanizations, and one family would normally use only one of them.
• Lim, Tan, Taing and Ngov often go with a family that has Chinese roots, and Thach, Danh and Kien with a Khmer family from the Mekong Delta, but a name alone never settles where someone comes from.
• Norodom and Sisowath belong to the royal family. Keep them for a prince or princess and choose something else for an ordinary character.

Frequently asked questions

Do Cambodians have last names?

Yes, but they work differently from Western surnames. The family name comes first, it has only been a legal requirement since the early twentieth century, and in many families it is simply the father's or grandfather's given name, so it is not always the same from one generation to the next. Other families, especially in towns and abroad, keep one fixed name such as Sok, Chea or Lim.

What are the most common Cambodian last names?

There is no reliable public ranking that we know of, so this page gives no figures. Names you will meet again and again include Sok, Chea, Keo, Heng, Meas, Chan, Sam, Kong, Kim and Ly. All of them are in the list.

Why is the same Cambodian name spelled in different ways?

Khmer has its own script, and there is no single romanization that everyone uses day to day. Older spellings follow French habits, newer ones follow English, and each family settles on its own. That is why you will find both Ouk and Uk, Oum and Um, Pich and Pech, and Vann and Van in the list.

Why are some names in the list longer than one syllable?

Most of them are given names, such as Sophal, Samnang, Sovann and Vuthy, that a family carries in the family-name slot, often because a child was registered under the father's given name. A few are the names of old official families, such as Thiounn and Tioulong. Norodom and Sisowath are the names of the two royal lines.

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All 500 Cambodian last names