Thai Surnames

People who know Thailand are aware that surnames are very rarely used. People are addressed perfectly politely by their given name. In fact surnames have not been around in Thailand for all that long and they obviously have never achieved the same status they are accorded elsewhere in the world.

 

In 1906 the then Crown Prince Vajiravudh wrote an essay which set out some of the practical reasons why he thought surnames would be useful: they would identify individuals more precisely, and indicate family background. In 1913 when he had been king (Rama VI) for nearly three years, he issued a decree announcing that everyone in the kingdom was to have a surname so that government records of births, marriages and deaths would be clear and reliable and so that identification of individuals and their line of descent would be free from possible error. He wrote in another essay: "Now that we have surnames it can be said that we have caught up with people who are regarded as civilized."

The decree announced in March 1913 had twenty articles altogether. The main provisions were these:

 

• A surname was to be adopted by all Thai
• The name chosen would be the permanent name of the family, to be handed down in the male line
• A married woman was to take her husband's name
• Neither given name nor surnname was to be changed without the permission of the Nai Amphur, the District Officer
• The oldest living male of a family was to choose the name
• The surname had to be suitable, in keeping with the family's position, and with no coarse connotations
• The name must not require more than ten letters to write
• There was to be no duplication of surname in a district or neighbouring district
• The decree was to become law on 1st July 1913 and six months later all heads of family were to have complied by registering their name with the district office.

It seems that as late as 1924 the Ministry of Interior was still having trouble getting its own officials to comply with the law despite the possession of a surname being a prerequisite for appointment to positions such as kamnan (commune head) and pu yai ban (village head).

 

I don't know when it could be said that everyone in Thailand had a surname, probably not until the last thirty years or so when minority peoples in the north were pressed into adopting them, mainly by not allowing children into school without a properly registered surname.

 

The avoidance of 'coarse connotations' is a reminder that many nicknames used to be very coarse, unlike now when 'cute' seems to be the preference.

 

The oldest surnames are those that conform to the 'no more than ten letters' rule. Here in Phana almost all surnames consist of just two or three syllables. The very long names are usually quite recent and are generally attempts at translating Chinese names into a Thai equivalent.

Comments

[Martyn]

I am very surprised that Thailand has only introduced surnames during the last 100 years and hence their use is nowadays still limited to official purposes. I am learning more about Thailand each day.

The late introduction of surnames is probably a major headache in disputed land claims that tend to rear up in the country regions.

On the plus side, the strong family bonds that exist in Thailand probably make them very proud of their 'new' family names. Having read your post I will have to do some research and find out what my girlfriend's surname KAMPOO means or comes from.

[Lawrence]

I'm glad you found this interesting, Martyn. I'll look out for the results of your research into your girlfriend's family name. It's certainly an early one with just 2 syllables. I think that disputed land claims often stem from the way claims were (and still are, sometimes) made, that is by staking out a piece of land and laying claim to it. Sometimes people come along and move the stakes!Also, few people have made wills in the past.
In Isan surnames in the father's line were always a bit irrelevant because inheritance is usually through the female line (mother to daughter/s).

[Liew]

Apparently, like you said, my surname was translated from our Chinese surname by my oldest uncle. The remaining are the 2 initial letters 'NG'. I'm (many times) tempted to change my name and surname since people (here) keep spelling them wrong. I guess it's not their fault, just my complicated Thai name!

[Lawrence]

There are lots of people of Chinese origin in UK with the name Ng. I taught about 6 of them!

[Alex Garcia Estrada]

Can u translate my surnames: GARCIA and ESTRADA to thai?

thanks