An investigation into the “lifeline” of surnames has revealed that within 10

An investigation into the “lifeline” of surnames has revealed that within 10 years, the Vietnamese surname – linked to the last ruling dynasty in Vietnam – will be more common than Smith in Australian metropolitan areas.

Nguyen did not rate a mention in 1903 to now be Australia’s 13th most popular last name, data from Ancestry.com.au and White Pages Online 2013 reveals.

The common Vietnamese surname is also the third-most popular in Sydney, second in Melbourne and seventh in Adelaide.

Nationwide, Smith has remained number one since 1903 and is twice as popular as its closest competitor, Jones.

“The Nguyen dynasty was the last ruling dynasty in Vietnam. It’s like the Windsors in the UK. To carry favours with the emperor people changed their name to Nguyen,” the Albert Park resident said.

“With Vietnam there’s about 88 million people and about 50-60 million are Nguyen. I’d like to say that we are all related, but we’re not.

“There is a strong Asian heritage in Australia and a lot of them happen to be Nguyen.”

The top 20 surnames from 1903.

1. Smith
2. Williams
3. Brown
4. Jones
5. Wilson
6. Taylor
7. Ryan
8. Anderson
9. McDonald
10. White
11. Thompson
12. Thomas
13. Martin
14. Johnson
15. Kelly
16. Murphy
17. Walker
18. Scott
19. Campbell
20. Stewart

SOURCE: Ancestry.com