Thai Surnames

Thai surnames are integral to unravelling Thai genealogy. Surnames provide insights into Thai cultural nuances, facilitate an understanding of Thai official records and of Thai family traditions. Understanding Thai surnames and the conventions around them are key steps towards exploring any Thai background and heritage you or family members may have.

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History

Coat of arms, Siam.

Until the early 20^th century, inhabitants of Thailand (previously known as Siam) did not use surnames. They identified themselves by referring to their parents' given names or the place where they lived.

All that changed with King Rama VI. In 1912, as part of a modernisation drive, the King declared that a formal birth, death, and marriage registration system would be instituted. The following year he created the Surname Act of 1913 (also known as the Thai Nationality Act), declaring that all Thai people must adopt Western-style names. The Act ensured that every Thai citizen had a unique and identifiable family name.

Search historical records on MyHeritage

Thai surname conventions

As a result of King Rama VI’s reforms modern Thai names differ from the family name - given name, pattern common in other East Asian countries. Instead, the order of Thai names is like Western European names, that is given name - last name.

These are some of the common Thai surname conventions:

• The Thai Surname Act of 1913 set out specific surname rules that has greatly impacted surname patterns:
  • A new Thai surname must be no longer than 10 consonants of the Thai alphabet, excluding the diacritic marks the alphabet uses for vowels.
  • The law also forbade creating a surname that duplicates any existing surnames. Nevertheless, some duplicates still slipped through the system before it was fully computerised.
• A large section of the Thai population has Chinese roots. Many families with a common Chinese name had to add extra elements to ensure it was unique and therefore complied with the 1913 law. This has led to especially lengthy or complex last names among this ethnic community.
• Because surnames were uncommon before the 1913 law, other families at that time simply made up a last name, based on words with positive meanings in the Thai language. This includes names reflecting superstitions or associated with promoting good luck.
• While Thai surnames follow the Western conventions one variation is that the given name is often preceded by nickname. Thai names therefore typically consist of three parts: nickname - given name - last name.
• Reflecting the influence of Brahmanism-Hinduism and Buddhism, most Thais incorporate Pali and Sanskrit elements into their names. These Indian languages are the roots of many Thai words.
• Traditionally Thai surnames are patrilineal, meaning children inherit their father's family name at birth. Similarly, most Thai women take their husband's surname upon marriage.
• Thai royalty also sometimes bestows honorary surnames to families. These honorifics are usually simply tacked onto the existing surname.
• Surnames can reflect their family’s social, religious or location origin. Others pay homage to a revered ancestor.

Common Thai surnames

According to the website Forebears there are around 2.4 million unique surnames in Thailand.

Some common Thai surnames and their meanings include:

• Wachira, meaning power or authority.
• Khamphir: wisdom, knowledge.
• Meechai, victory, triumph.
• Weerawat, prosperity, success.
• Srisuntorn: nobility, honour.
• Changchui: resilience, endurance.
• Phuttikko: based on Buddhist teachings.
• Ayutthaya, taken from the famous city of Ayodhya, it relates to the concept of invincibility.
• Adulyadej, inspired by the former King of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej; derived from the Sanskrit words Atulya, meaning incomparable and Tej, meaning power.
• Thongkham, of Lao origin, it means "gold."

Other common Thai surnames include Chomphunut, Lungweerawat, Benjamast, Sangthong, Chanthara and Cherinsuk.

Celebrities / famous people with Thai surnames

King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Some Thais have had a notable impact beyond their own country and received international recognition for their actions or achievements:

• Bhumibol Adulyadej, the revered Thai king who was at his death in 2016 the longest ruling monarch anywhere in the modern world (70 years - a record since only surpassed by the late Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom).
• Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, activist and magazine editor, jailed in 2013 for publishing two articles critical of a fictional character interpreted by the court as representing former King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Somyot was charged under Thailand’s lèse-majesté law which prohibits any defamation of the Thai monarchy or government.
• Thaksin Shinawatra, media magnate and former long-serving Thai Prime Minister. Divisive and controversial he was nevertheless seen by his many supporters as a successful policy reformer in a political system dominated by powerful military interests.
• Mechai Viravaidya, former politician and activist, affectionately known as “Mr. Condom” because of his ardent and effective promotion of family planning.
• Thakoon Panichgul, Thai-American fashion designer.
• Ajahn Chah, better known by his monastic name of Chah Subhaddo, influential Thai Buddhist monk, instrumental in establishing Theravada Buddhism in the West.

Role of surnames in Thai genealogical research

Thai script.

Thai genealogy involves researching official records, collating family traditions, and learning and applying cultural nuances. By combining all these resources, you can uncover more about a family's Thai story.

Deciphering Thai surnames is a very helpful step in identifying and connecting to Thai ancestors. There are certain considerations and strategies to consider when researching Thai surnames:

• Thai language has its own unique script. When researching or recording the names of Thai ancestors, ideally the researcher should know how to write their names in both the native Thai script and the Romanised version of the name. A researcher without this skill may need to consider using the services of a qualified researcher competent in both the spoken and written Thai language.
• The absence of surnames means that accurately identifying Thai ancestors before 1913 can difficult. A place to start may be to focus on identifying when the person’s family adopted a surname and whether that name can be connected to a specific social, religious or location with will provide a surname clue.
• The prevalence of nicknames can also complicate correctly identifying an individual even after 1913. A nickname in a document can be mistaken as a given name, cascading to mis-identifying the last name.
• In Thailand it is rare for unrelated people to have the same family name. If two Thai individuals share a family name, this means they are almost certainly related.
• Many publicly available Thai records focus on leaders and famous individuals, as they are typically the best documented. Through multiple generations these individuals can be connected to much wider pool of other surnames. It is worth considering whether you can connect these people to your own tree.

See also

• Thai and Cambodian ethnicity
• Asian surnames
• Chinese surnames
• Vietnamese surnames
• Korean surnames
• Japanese surnames
• Malay surnames
• Southeast Asian surnames

Explore more about Thai surnames

The MyHeritage Wiki article, Thai and Cambodian ethnicity provides a general introduction to the history and culture of Thailand as well as its ethnic mix. Another Wiki article, How to understand DNA matches, will help you make best use of this powerful tool.

Other online resources helpful to Thai surname research include:

• An Introduction to Thai Genealogy contains a number of important resources to take into account when researching Thai family history.
• The Australian TV broadcaster, SBS, has a very useful Cultural Atlas which outlines how Thai names are constructed. A more detailed PDF version is available for download (at modest cost).
• The Thailand Foundation's The Captivating Stories Behind Thai Names, will help you understand Thai names. It explains the basic composition of Thai names and presents examples on the meanings of some popular names. It also examines how beliefs and history came to shape the Thai people’s naming practices.
• Babel Street's Analyzing Thai Names: Superstition, History, and Foreign Influence, starts from the basis that Thai surnames are uniquely challenging to understand. It explains the history and evolution of Thai naming convention and the various influences that have shaped them. The resource also provides a name matching model and shows how it can be used to parse (match) Thai names properly.
• 100 Common Thai Surnames You Need To Know, a repost on Medium.com of the original post on Ling
• The Origin of Thai Surname: Establishment of Patriarchal Power within Thai Family

References

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