Myanmar Naming Customs

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Myanmar (formerly Burma)

Naming Customs

Understanding customs used in surnames and given names can help you identify your ancestors in records. Learn to recognize name variations and see clues in names.

Online Tools

• Behind the Name: Myanmar Given Names
• FamilySearch's surname experience - enter your last name to find its meaning and origin

Surnames

• People from Myanmar or Burmese, have no family names. This, to some, is the only known Asian people having no family names at all.
• Some of those from Myanmar or Burma, who are familiar with European or American cultures, began to put to their younger generations with a family name – adopted from the notable ancestors. For example, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of the late Father of Independence General Aung San; Hayma Ne Win, is the daughter of the famous actor Kawleikgyin Ne Win etc.
• The Bamars have no customary patronymic or matronymic system and thus there is no surname at all.
• In the culture of Myanmar, people can change their name at will, often with no government oversight, to reflect a change in the course of their lives.
• Also, many Burmese names use an honorific, given at some point in life, as an integral part of the name.
• Burmese names were originally one syllable, as in the cases of U Nu and U Thant ("U" being an honorific). In the mid-20th century, many Burmese started using two syllables, albeit without any formal structure.
• In the late 1890s, British scholars observed that Rakhines commonly adopted three-syllable names whereas Bamars were still using one or two at most'.
• As they become more familiar with Western culture, Burmese people are gradually increasing the number of syllables in their children's names, by use of various structures. Today, names with up to four syllables are common for males and up to five for females.

Bamar Names

Bamar names commonly include Pali-derived words combined with native Burmese words, including:

Male:

thura (သူရ "brave, gallant" from sūra)

thiha (သီဟ "lion", from sīha)

zeya (ဇေယျာ "victory", from jāya)

wunna (ဝဏ္ဏ "gold", from vaṇṇa)

kaung (ကောင်း "best", from kaung)

Female:

sanda (စန္ဒာ "moon", from canda)

thanda (သန္တာ "coral", from santa)

thiri (သီရိ "splendour", from siri)

hayma (ဟေမာ, "forest", compare Himalayas)