Why are Chi-Thai names longer than Thai-Thai names?

[Beachlover]

Something I've always been curious about...

Why are Chi-Thai (Chinese-Thai) last names so long compared to Thai-Thai names? I've been told Chi-Thai names are generally longer.

Some examples of Chi-Thai origin last names...

- Hiranyawongkul
- Shinawatra
- Vejjajiva
- Chotichanapibal

Then you get Thai last names, which are really short like, "Bunnag".

Is there any explanation behind this?

[llz]

(courtesy Wikipedia)

Last names became legally required of Thai citizens in 1913 ; before then, most Thais used only a first or individual name. The names generally convey positive attributes. Under Thai law, only one family can use any given surname: thus any two people of the same surname must be related.

Thai surnames are often long, particularly among those of upper-class families and also among Thais of Chinese descent, whose lengthy names stem from an attempt to translate Chinese names into Thai equivalents. For example, the family of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who are of Chinese descent, adopted the name Shinawatra ("does good routinely") in 1938. According to the current law, to create a new Thai surname, it must not be longer than ten Thai letters, vowel symbols and diacritics are not counted.

As a measure of the diversity of Thai names, in a sample of 45,665 names, 81% of family names were unique, and 35% of given names were unique: the people with shared family names are thus related, and the diversity of given names is conventional.[2]

[christianpfc]

I noticed, for some of my friends whose full name I know, that usually a two-syllable first name goes with a two-syllable family name and a four-syllable first name goes with a four-syllable second name.

I started a similar topic a while ago: http://gaybuttonthai.com/viewtopic.php? ... 79&start=0 (http://gaybuttonthai.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1579&start=0)

[Beachlover]

Cool... Thanks for the explanation Ilz/Wiki. Makes sense.