[3] The use of surnames in Cambodia is relatively recent and was not mandated by law until imposed by the French in 1910.
[5] Other Austroasiatic indigenous people groups within Cambodia have similar naming customs, while the Sino-Khmer and Viet-Khmer may follow Chinese and Vietnamese naming patterns, respectively.
After the passage of the law, parents often gave their children the father, grandfather or great-grandfather's given name as a surname.
[7] The earliest attested names among Khmer either have indigenous origins or were drawn from Sanskrit.
[9] The meanings of Khmer names are generally very simple and reference positive attributes.
[clarification needed] Different naming traditions exist among ethnic groups other than the Khmer majority.
Other ethnic groups, particularly Chinese-Cambodians and Vietnamese-Cambodians, may have a family name that is taken by each generation, in which case the name is pronounced similarly to the language of origin but within the bounds of Khmer phonology.