Thai Chinese - Surnames

Surnames

Almost all Sino-Thais possess a Thai surname, as was required by King Rama VI in order for them to become Thai citizens. The few who retain native Chinese surnames are either recent immigrants or resident aliens.

However, Sino-Thai surnames are often distinct from the general population, with generally longer names mimicking those of high officials and upper-class Thais and with elements of these longer names retaining their original Chinese surname in translation or transliteration. For example, the former prime minister Banharn Silpa-Archa's unusual Archa element is a translation into Thai of his family's former name Ma ( 馬, 马, "horse"). Similarly, the Lim in Sondhi Limthongkul's name is the Hainanese pronunciation of the name Lin (林). Or it may have been done for them. For an example, see the background of the Vejjajiva Palace name. Note that the latter-day Royal Thai General System of Transcription would transcribe it as "Wetchachiwa" and that the Sanskrit-derived name refers to "medical profession."

In Southern Thai, it is common to simply prefix Sae- (from Chinese: 姓, "surname") to a transliteration of their name to form the new surname; Wanlop Saechio's last name thus derived from the Chinese 周.