Origin: The name Vietnam or Việt Nam is a variation of "Nam Việt" (南越; pinyin: Nányuè; literally Southern Việt), a name that can be traced back to the Trieu dynasty of the 2nd century BC. The word Việt originated as a shortened form of Bách Việt (百越; pinyin: Bǎiyuè), a word applied to a group of peoples then living in southern China and Vietnam.