These 70 Cambodian last names are printed in Khmer script beside a Latin spelling. Each card gives what the name means as a Khmer word, or the Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Pali or Sanskrit name a dictionary derives it from.
Read the full guide
Khmer last names by where they come from
The dropdown under the button, Comes from, keeps one kind: the 36 names that are also Khmer words, such as Meas (gold), Pech (diamond) and Chey (victory); the 29 the dictionary derives from Chinese, such as Ly from 李 and Lim from 林; or the 5 from Vietnamese, Thai, Pali or Sanskrit.
The family name comes first
A Cambodian name is usually a family name followed by a given name. Surnames became mandatory by decree in 1910; after that, parents often gave a child the father's, grandfather's or great-grandfather's given name as a surname.
Tips
Three different Khmer names share the Latin spelling Khim; the Khmer script on the card tells them apart.
“As a Khmer word” means the dictionary lists the surname and the everyday word under one spelling.
Questions and answers
What are common Cambodian last names?
Wikipedia's article on Cambodian names lists Sok, Chea, Heng, Ly, Lim, Meas and Sam among common family names. All seven are here in Khmer script: សុខ, ជា, ហេង, លី, លីម, មាស and សម.
What do Cambodian last names mean?
Many are everyday Khmer words: Meas is gold, Pech is diamond, Chey is victory and Sok is to be healthy or peaceful. Others the dictionary derives from Chinese: Ly from 李, Lim from 林 and Chen from 陳.
Does the last name come first in Cambodia?
Yes. A Cambodian name usually has the family name first and the given name after it, the Eastern name order. Western sources sometimes reverse the two.
When did Cambodians start using last names?
Surnames became mandatory in Cambodia by a legal decree in 1910, during the French colonial era. Before that, family descent was not traced through a surname.
Are these real Khmer surnames?
Yes. Each has a Khmer surname entry in English Wiktionary, and 65 of the 70 are also in the family-name table of Wikipedia's article on Cambodian names. Entries with no stated origin or meaning were left out.
Chan ចន្ទAs a Khmer word: moon. The word is from Sanskrit चन्द्र or Pali canda.
Chap ចាបAs a Khmer word: bow. The word is from Pali cāpa or Sanskrit चाप.
Chea ជាFrom Hokkien 謝 or Teochew 謝.
Cheam ជាមAs a Khmer word: bowl.
Chen ចេនFrom Chinese 陳. Also spelled Jen.
Cheng ចេងFrom Chinese 程 or 曾.
Chey ជ័យAs a Khmer word: victory. The word is from Sanskrit जय. Also spelled Jey.
Chhan ឆនFrom Chinese 春. Also spelled Chhorn.
Chhay ឆាយPossibly from Hakka 蔡.
Chhim ឈឹមFrom Chinese 欽. Also spelled Chhoem.
Chin ជិនFrom Chinese 金. Also spelled Jin.
Duong ដួងAs a Khmer word: globe, sphere, disk (of the moon). The word is from Thai ดวง.
Ek ឯកAs a Khmer word: one; first. The word is from Pali eka or Sanskrit एक. Also spelled Aek.
Heng ហេងAs a Khmer word: to be lucky, successful. The word is from Teochew 興.
Ho ហូFrom Chinese 胡.
Hong ហុងAs a Khmer word: reel, spool.
Hun ហ៊ុនAs a Khmer word: capital, invested money, share. The word is from Hokkien 份.
Khat ខាត់As a Khmer word: to polish.
Khay ខាយFrom Chinese 凱.
Khiev ខៀវAs a Khmer word: to be blue. The word is from Thai เขียว. Also spelled Kheav.
Khim គិមFrom Cantonese 金.
Khim គីមFrom Teochew 金.
Khim ឃីមFrom Chinese 金.
Kuoch គួចFrom Teochew 郭 or Vietnamese Quách.
Lay ឡាយAs a Khmer word: marbled or veined pattern. The word is from Thai ลาย.
Lim លិមFrom Cantonese 林. Also spelled Lym.
Lim លីមFrom Hokkien 林 or Teochew 林.
Ly លីFrom Chinese 李. Also spelled Li or Lee.
Ma មាFrom Chinese 馬.
Mau ម៉ៅFrom Chinese 毛. Also spelled Mao.
Mean មានAs a Khmer word: to have, possess.
Meas មាសAs a Khmer word: gold.
Mul មូលAs a Khmer word: origin, root, source. The word is from Pali mūla. Also spelled Moul.
Muoy មួយAs a Khmer word: one.
Nhoek ញឹកAs a Khmer word: to be close together, dense.
Ong អុងFrom Chinese 王 or 黃.
Pang បាងAs a Khmer word: bay, gulf.
Pech ពេជ្រAs a Khmer word: diamond. The word is from Sanskrit वज्र.
Phan ផានFrom Chinese 潘.
Pich ពិជFrom the Khmer word ពេជ្រ, diamond.
Prak ប្រាក់As a Khmer word: money; silver.
Ruos រស់As a Khmer word: to be alive, to live. Also spelled Ruoh or Ros.
Sa សរAs a Khmer word: arrow. The word is from Sanskrit शर. Also spelled Sar or Sor.
Sam សមAs a Khmer word: to be appropriate, proper, fitting. The word is from Pali sama. Also spelled Som.
Sang សាងAs a Khmer word: to build, to construct.
Sat សាតFrom Thai สะอาด. Also spelled Sath.
Say សាយAs a Khmer word: to scatter, spread.
Sen សេនAs a Khmer word: cent, hundredth part of a riel. The word is from French cent.
Sieng សៀងAs a Khmer word: sound, voice. The word is from Thai เสียง. Also spelled Seang.
So ស៊ូFrom Chinese 蘇. Also spelled Su.
Soeang សឿងFrom Vietnamese sương.
Sok សុខAs a Khmer word: to be healthy; to be safe, peaceful, calm. The word is from Sanskrit सुख or Pali sukha.
Som សោមFrom Pali soma or Sanskrit सोम. Also spelled Saom.
Suon សួនAs a Khmer word: garden, park. The word is from Thai สวน.
Suy ស៊ុយFrom Vietnamese suy, from Chinese 推 or 隋.
Taing តាំងFrom Teochew 陳. Also spelled Tang.
Tang តាងFrom Chinese 唐.
Tat តាតFrom Chinese 達. Also spelled Tath.
Thai ថៃFrom Vietnamese Thai or Thái.
Thy ធីAs a Khmer word: to take an examination. The word is from Vietnamese thi, from Chinese 試. Also spelled Thi.
Toch តូចAs a Khmer word: to be little, small. Also spelled Touch.
Tum ទុំAs a Khmer word: ripe.
Um អុំAs a Khmer word: to winnow rice; to row, to paddle.
Uy អ៊ុយFrom Hokkien 黃.
Vong វង្សAs a Khmer word: family, line, lineage. The word is from Pali vaṃsa.
Yos យសAs a Khmer word: honor, fame, glory.
Yun យុនFrom Chinese 尹.
How this list was compiled
Built on 3 October 2026 from two public pages read that day. One: English Wiktionary's Khmer surname entries (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:Khmer_surnames, CC BY-SA 4.0, 124 entries). A name is listed only when its entry gives more than the bare word 'surname': either the entry's etymology names the Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Pali or Sanskrit name or word it was borrowed from, or the same entry gives the spelling as an everyday Khmer word, and the card then says 'As a Khmer word' and gives the first plain sense or senses; where the entry says the word itself was borrowed, the card names the language ('The word is from Thai'), and such a name still counts as a Khmer word. 70 names passed; 54 entries that give no origin and no word were left out, as were senses that are unkind or need a long explanation. Two: the table 'List of some family names' in English Wikipedia's article 'Cambodian name' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodian_name, CC BY-SA 4.0), which prints each name in Khmer script with its common Latin spellings; 65 of the names here are in that table, and the card adds the table's other spellings. The Latin spelling that leads a card is the one the dictionary entry links, or the table's first spelling where the entry links none. Origins: 36 names that are also Khmer words, 29 the dictionary derives from Chinese (Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese or Hakka where it says so), 5 from another language. A meaning is what the dictionary records for the word or the name in general, not for any family, and no count of how common a name is stands behind this list. No name here stands on another list of this site in its Khmer spelling (counted on 3 October 2026). Licence: Drawn from English Wiktionary and English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). The selection and the wording of the cards are our own work.