Đại Việt ( ;
Hán tự:
大越; literally "Great Viet") is the official name referring to
Vietnamese dynasties beginning with the rule of
Lý Thánh Tông (r. 1054-1072), the third king of the
Lý Dynasty. Previously, since the rule of
Đinh Bộ Lĩnh (r. 968-979), the country had been referred to in an official manner as
Đại Cồ Việt (
大瞿越);
cồ (
chu Nom:
𡚝) is a
synonym of
大. The term "Việt" is
cognate with the
Chinese word "Yue," and originally referred collectively to the numerous
Yue peoples (often referred to in historical texts as the "Hundred Yue"), who comprised the non-Chinese ethnic groups of southern China and northern Vietnam.
In 1400, the founder of the
Hồ Dynasty, Hồ Quý Ly, changed the country's name to Đại Ngu (
大虞). In 1407, Vietnam fell under
Ming Dynasty domination, which lasted until 1427. In 1428,
Lê Lợi, the founder of the
Lê Dynasty, again renamed the newly liberated country Đại Việt.
When the
Nguyễn Dynasty took power, the country's name was officially changed yet again, in 1804, this time to Việt Nam (
越南), until emperor
Minh Mạng, in 1839, again renamed it Đại Nam (
大南, literally "Great South"); it held this official name until 1945.