Personal Naming and Law — The Vietnamese Civil Code and English Common Law in Comparative Perspective

This article examines how personal names are regulated in Vietnam and England, exploring what these contrasting approaches reveal about law as a cultural institution. It argues that legal regimes of naming do not merely register identity but encode distinct cultural logics: Vietnamese law emphasizes collectivist stability through codification, while English law prioritizes individual autonomy via permissive common law. Drawing on statutory analysis (notably the 2015 Vietnamese Civil Code), English case law, administrative circulars, and ethnographic studies of minority naming practices, the study highlights how legal frameworks interact with social norms. Findings indicate that Vietnam’s codification reinforces kinship and lineage structures but risks marginalizing non-majority practices, whereas English common law facilitates personal choice yet can disadvantage migrants and minority language users due to administrative and resource barriers. By treating names as both cultural-linguistic ar- tifacts and legal identifiers, the article shows that the “right to a name” is realized in culturally specific ways, illuminating law’s role in mediating identity, recognition, and belonging.