Etymology

Main article: Names of Vietnam

The name Việt Nam (Vietnamese pronunciation: [vjə̀tnam]) is a variation of "Nam Việt" (Chinese: 南越; pinyin: Nányuè; literally "Southern Việt"), a name that can be traced back to the Triệu Dynasty (2nd century BC). The adjective was later moved after the noun for Vietnamese word order. The word "Việt" originated as a shortened form of Bách Việt (Chinese: 百越; pinyin: Bǎiyuè), a word applied to a group of peoples then living in southern China and Vietnam. The name "Vietnam" was adopted officially by Emperor Gia Long in 1804. In 1839, Emperor Minh Mạng renamed the country Đại Nam ("Great South"). However, "Annam", which originated in the seventh century as a Chinese name for the country, continued to be the common name, especially in English and French. In 1945, Emperor Bảo Đại changed the official name back to "Vietnam".