What Do You Call Someone From Laos? (Helpful Content!)

Someone from Laos is called a Lao. This applies both to people of Lao nationality as well as a specific ethnic group found primarily in Laos. Certainly from within Laos, this term is much preferred over “Laotian”. There is some debate around it, but historically “Laotian” has had derogatory connotations, so it’s best avoided.

So, the short and simple answer is that someone from Laos is called Laotian.

As with any question like this, you may well find individuals who suggest that “Laotian” is perfectly fine as a demonym, but it’s clearly not the generally preferred term of the people of Laos themselves—so avoid any confusion and just use “Lao”.

Let’s find out more.

In This Article

What is someone from Laos called?

Someone from Laos is called Lao or a Lao.

This is the short answer, though as with any such question, the truth is a fair bit more complicated in a number of different ways.

We’ll get more in detail into the question of Laos/Laotian later on, but for now suffice it to say that people in Laos itself very widely favour the term “Lao”.

This is the easiest way of looking at it, avoids any confusion, and is very unlikely to get you in any hot water with locals.

At the same time, though, there is a question of ethnicity vs nationality.

Laos is not an ethnic monolith and so there are many different groups to consider.

Naturally, the largest group in Laos is ethnically Lao people.

These people comprise around 53% of the population, around 3.4 million people.

However, there is an estimated global population of around 22 million Lao people, the majority of whom live in Thailand; around 18 million.

These people would all consider themselves to be ethnically Lao, even though many of them would not be Lao in terms of their nationality.

At the same time, there is obviously then another 50% of Laos’ population to be accounted for.

The rest of the population is made up of a variety of minority ethnic groups.

The next largest after the Lao are the Khmu people, making up about 11% of the population.

The majority of the global Khmu population is found in Laos.

Around 9% of the population are Hmong people, 3.4% Phu Thai, 3.1% Tai, and several others including Makong, Katang, Lue and Akha.

The country, then, is extremely ethnically diverse, and doubtless, most of these people would forefront their ethnic rather than their national identity—in which case, “Lao” still wouldn’t really suit them.

Where does the name “Laos” come from?

Laos, historically, was a French colony during the 19^th and 20^th Centuries.

This is where we get the modern term “Laos” from, which is not what the country is called in the language of the Lao people, though it is not that far off. In the Lao language, Laos is called Muang Lao or sometimes Pathet Lao, both of which meaning the “Lao Country”.

So, the French, then, originally named the country after the dominant ethnic group that were living there.

The ultimate etymology of the word “Lao” as a name for the people is not uncertain.

A tribe of people going by this name references as far back as Han Dynasty records, and so it was likely a term for a group of people long before it was a term for an area of land.

It is more often the case than you would think that a country is named after the people who live there, rather than the other way around.

Is it Lao or Laotian?

This is the crucial question, and you may get a different answer depending on whom you ask.

Most are generally agreed today, though, that Lao is the better term than Laotian.

“Laotian” derives ultimately from the French colonial period, and indeed to the extent that many would think of it as at best insensitive and at worst offensive.

These things always depend very much on whom you’re talking to, but it is historically clear that Lao people use Lao for themselves, and outsiders, especially colonizers, used Laotian.

There is, then, really no reason to ever bother using the term Laotian.

No one thinks it’s better, though a small minority may think it no worse than Lao; so simply stick to Lao.

Where do Lao people live?

As mentioned, Lao people do not only live in Laos, and this again puts into perspective just what it means to be Lao.

Many times the number of Lao people live in Thailand as live in Laos itself, as mentioned.

The vast majority of the 22 million Lao people are spread through Laos and Thailand—around 20 of the 22 million.

There are around 200,000 Lao people in France and a further 200,000 in the United States.

There are also around 50,000 across Cambodia and Canada, with further minority populations in Myanmar, Vietnam, and Germany.

The point being that, again, Lao people are more identified as an ethnic group and a people, rather than the national population of a given country.

Trying to navigate this kinds of historical, cultural nomenclature can often feel confusing, but in reality there is always a simple way around it.

The general consensus is that Lao is preferred over Laotian, so always go with the preferred term.

Equally, many people from Laos may feel something else to be more important as their key identifier, so in any case it may always simply be better to have a conversation with whichever individual you’re addressing.

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Founder - @PollyWebster

Polly Webster is the founder of Foreign Lingo and a seasoned traveler with a decade of exploration under her belt.

Over the past 10 years, she has journeyed to numerous countries around the globe, immersing herself in diverse cultures, traditions, and languages.

Drawing from her rich experiences, Polly now writes insightful articles about travel, languages, traditions, and cultures, sharing her unique perspectives and invaluable tips with her readers.

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