How to name the Nguyen Phuc family of the Nguyen dynasty

Nguyen Thai To (Lord Tien - Nguyen Hoang) was the one who laid the foundation for the Nguyen Phuc clan and the Nguyen dynasty (1558 - 1945) in the South.

After that, he passed the throne to his son, Hy Tong Nguyen Phuc Nguyen. From then on, the descendants of the Nguyen family (originating from Gia Mieu - Tong Son, now Ha Long commune, Ha Trung, Thanh Hoa ) added the word Phuc to distinguish the generation and have a custom of naming their own names, which gradually became a mandatory model. However, for a long time from 1558 to 1789, the Nguyen Phuc family still submitted to the Le dynasty, so the naming convention was still simple.

Nguyen Hoang was the one who played the most important and active role in expanding and exploiting the southern region - Photo: Internet

Since Nguyen Thanh To (King Minh Mang) ascended the throne (1819 - 1840), the king paid attention to the family lineage, established the Royal Family Palace to take care of the family members, and established the Royal Genealogy to record relatives. The king divided the lineage into the Imperial family and the Phien family, the Pre-family and the Chinh family to distinguish between relatives and friends. The Pre-family refers to the descendants of the 9th generation of lords in the South, and the Chinh family refers to the reign of King Gia Long (1802) onwards. The Chinh family is divided into two: the Imperial family is the descendants of King Minh Mang and the Phien family (Phien means fence) is the fence for the Royal family, referring to the descendants of the king's brothers.

The poem “Imperial Dynasty Poetry” consists of 4 verses with 20 words with good and lasting meanings: Mien Hong Ung Buu Vinh/ Bao Quy Dinh Long Truong/ Hien Nang Kham Ke Thuat/ The Thuy Quoc Gia Xuong . Accordingly, the children of King Minh Mang started with the word Mien and continued like that to the following generations (Nguyen Phuc Mien Tong - King Thieu Tri; Nguyen Phuc Hong Nham - King Tu Duc; Nguyen Phuc Ung Lich - King Ham Nghi; Nguyen Phuc Buu Dao - King Khai Dinh; Nguyen Phuc Vinh Thuy - King Bao Dai). People of the same generation all have the same third middle name, such as Nguyen Phuc Ung Chan - King Duc Duc, Nguyen Phuc Ung Dang - King Kien Phuc, Nguyen Phuc Ung Lich - King Ham Nghi... Unfortunately, the idea of ​​the Nguyen Phuc dynasty's longevity, set by King Minh Mang, stopped at the fifth word "Vinh".

In “Nguyen Phuc clan genealogy”, page 421 specifically records about the Phien he: “The brothers of Duc Thanh To (King Minh Mang) included 12 people, the third son of Hoang died early, Thuan An Duke died before the royal Phien he thi was compiled, so there were only 10 Phien he thi poems given to 10 Phong to form the first He. Similar to the Emperor he thi, the Phien he thi poems help determine the order of the generation”. For example, a Phien he thi poem belonging to Phong Anh Due: My Le Anh Cuong Trang/ Lien Huy Phat Boi Huong/ Lenh Nghi Ham Ton Thuan/ Vi Vong Bieu Khon Quang .

Since the reign of King Minh Mang, the king's daughter was called a princess. When she was awarded the title of princess, she had a separate name. For example, Princess Luong Duc was awarded the title of princess and was called An Thuong. Princess Quang Tinh was awarded the title of princess and was called Huong La. If the princess had a brother who was the king, she was called the eldest princess. If the king called her aunt, she was called the eldest princess. Corresponding to "Ung" in the Imperial system, the direct daughter was called a princess, followed by Cong Ton nu, Cong Tang Ton nu, Cong Huyen Ton nu, Cong Lai Ton nu. However, due to the concept of "foreign daughters", later in the third generation of the Imperial system, people dropped the word Cong and only called Nguyen Ton nu, Nguyen Huyen Ton nu, Nguyen Lai Ton nu.

After August 30, 1945, Nguyen Phuc Vinh Thuy - King Bao Dai abdicated, ending the Nguyen Dynasty, the naming of the direct lineage of the Imperial lineage continued; as for women, people only used Nguyen Ton Nu, or Ton Nu to preserve the royal lineage of the ancient Nguyen Dynasty. It should also be added that, due to the taboo from the time of Nguyen Phuc Mien Tong (the name of King Thieu Tri), from then on, the word "Tong" was avoided, for example, Le Thanh Tong had to be called Le Thanh Ton...

Vo Huu Loc

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/van-hoa-du-lich-van-hoc-nghe-thuat/202503/cach-dat-ten-trong-dong-ho-nguyen-phuc-thuoc-vuong-trieu-nguyen-a3b09a5/