Son

♂ Boy

How to Pronounce Son

Pronounced SUN /ˈsʌn/Medium

Meaning: Son has two honest possibilities: it may be the Vietnamese name Son (written Son), meaning 'mountain', borne by Vietnamese-American families, or it may reflect the English word 'son'; without more context the source cannot be settled, so both are given.Low

In 30 seconds: Son is a boy's name that may be the Vietnamese Son, 'mountain', or the English word 'son' — both are noted honestly (said 'SUN').

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Origin LowVietnamese, English

MeaningSon has two honest possibilities: it may be the Vietnamese name Son (written Son), meaning 'mountain', borne by Vietnamese-American families, or it may reflect the English word 'son'; without more context the source cannot be settled, so both are given.

U.S. rank (2019)#13852 ↘ Falling

2019 U.S. births5 boys (0.00% of U.S. boys)

Peak year1982

Total births (all-time)≈ 1,061

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Son has two plausible sources that cannot be separated from the records alone. In Vietnamese it is a familiar boy's name meaning 'mountain', carried by families who resettled in the United States from the mid-nineteen-seventies; in English it is the ordinary word for a male child, occasionally recorded as a name.

Its US pattern, with a peak in the early nineteen-eighties, fits the Vietnamese-American reading well, though the English-word explanation cannot be ruled out. Because of that ambiguity the meaning is given cautiously, and the audio uses a respelling; a Vietnamese speaker would say it closer to 'sawn'.

Did you know? Son sits between two languages: it can be the Vietnamese Son, 'mountain', common among post-1975 Vietnamese families, or simply the English word, and US records alone cannot tell them apart.

Overall data confidence 40%

References — Son — Vietnamese Son, 'mountain', or English word; ambiguous, audio flagged

Variations

Sơn

Nicknames

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Famous Bearers

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If you like Son…

Quang— another single-syllable Vietnamese boy's name

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Son mean?

Son may be the Vietnamese name Son, 'mountain', or the English word 'son'; both readings are noted honestly.

How do you pronounce Son?

It's said SUN /ˈsʌn/ in English; a Vietnamese speaker would say it closer to 'sawn'.

Is Son a boy or girl name?

Son is used as a boy's name.

How popular is Son?

Son has always been rare in the U.S., most plausibly a Vietnamese heritage name seen since the late twentieth century.