Phạm (范) is the fourth most common Vietnamese family name. It may be rendered as Fan in Chinese or Beom/Pom/Pem (범) in Korean.

Phạm
PronunciationInternational Phonetic Alphabet
  • Hanoi: [faːm˧˨ʔ]
  • Saigon: [faːm˨˩˨]
Language(s)Vietnamese
Other names
Variant form(s)Fan, Huan, Fam, Hwang, Fung (from Chinese), Beom/Pŏm/Pem (Korean)

It is not to be confused with Phan (潘), another Vietnamese surname.

Origin

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Phạm is the Sino-Vietnamese reading of the Chữ Hán: .

Phạm arose in historical sources from around the third century CE. It was the title prepositions before names of kings of Lâm Ấp, kings of Funan, the eight chiefs of Jiao, and several tribal figures along the Annamite Mountain between the third to the seventh century CE. American historian Michael Vickery (1998) links the reconstructs the pronunciation of 范 as *buam and *bĭwɐm in Early Middle Chinese (c. 650 CE) with Old Khmer title poñ which was recorded in various 7th-century Cambodian inscriptions.[1] Later, a Phạm family emerged on the coastal side of the Red River basin in the 10th century. Vickery argues that the term was certainly of Mon-Khmer (Austroasiatic) origin, and the described demographics associated with the term (*bĭwɐm < *krum ~ prum, krom, khom) are strong linguistic indications of Mon-Khmer.[2] The term is still preserved in few Austroasiatic languages today, such as Temoq *puang (ritualist) ~ puiyang (shaman, + nominalizing infix -iy-) < pauñ < poñ, suggesting a pre-Buddhist native Mon-Khmer institution of leadership who possessed both shamanistic ritual and political roles.[3]

Frequency

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Phạm is a very prevalent last name in Vietnam. Among the global ethnic Vietnamese population, it is the fourth-most common name, accounting for 5% of the approximately 75 million people. It is also quite common in the United States, shared by around 82,000 citizens.[4] It is the 951st most common surname in France[5] and the 455th most common in Australia.[6][7]

 
Phạm (范) family Vietnamese Five Colours Flag

People

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Notable people with the surname Phạm include:

Science
Politics and military
Arts and entertainment
  • Phạm Duy (1921–2013), Vietnamese composer and songwriter
  • Linh Dan Pham (born 1974), Vietnamese-born French actress
  • Hoa Pham, Australian author
  • Phi Nhung (1970–2021), Vietnamese-American singer, actress and humanitarian
  • Quang X. Pham (born 1964), Vietnamese-American businessman and veteran
  • Andrew X. Pham, Vietnamese-born American author
  • Thái Thanh (1934–2020), Vietnamese-American singer
  • Pham Thi Hoai (born 1960), Vietnamese writer, editor and translator
  • Phạm Xuân Ẩn (1927–2006), Vietnamese journalist and communist spy
  • Phạm Xuân Nguyên (born 1958), Vietnamese writer and literary translator
  • Phạm Hương (born 1991), Vietnamese model and beauty pageant titleholder
  • Đan Trường (born Phạm Đan Trường, 1976), Vietnamese singer and actor
  • Thanh Hằng (born Phạm Thị Thanh Hằng, 1983), Vietnamese actress and beauty pageant titleholder
  • Hanni Pham (born Phạm Ngọc Hân, 2004), Australian Vietnamese singer, member of girl group NewJeans
  • Phạm Đoan Trang (born 1978), Vietnamese author and democracy activist
Sports
Religious figures
Fictional characters

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Vickery, Michael (1998). Society, economics, and politics in pre-Angkor Cambodia: the 7th-8th centuries. Centre for East Asian Cultural Studies for Unesco, The Toyo Bunko. p. 65. ISBN 978-4-89656-110-4.
  2. ^ Vickery, Michael (1998). Society, economics, and politics in pre-Angkor Cambodia: the 7th-8th centuries. Centre for East Asian Cultural Studies for Unesco, The Toyo Bunko. pp. 66–68. ISBN 978-4-89656-110-4.
  3. ^ Vickery, Michael (1998). Society, economics, and politics in pre-Angkor Cambodia: the 7th-8th centuries. Centre for East Asian Cultural Studies for Unesco, The Toyo Bunko. p. 203. ISBN 978-4-89656-110-4.
  4. ^ "Pham Surname Origin, Meaning & Last Name History". forebears.io. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  5. ^ French surnames
  6. ^ PBS, POV: The Sweetest Sound: Popularity Index
  7. ^ "Most Common Australian Surnames & Meanings". forebears.io. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
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