The Vietnamese people (Vietnamese: Kinh) are an ethnic group originating from what is now northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam. The earliest recorded name for the ancient Vietnamese people was known as the Lac peoples.

Although geographically and linguistically labeled as Southeast Asians, long periods of Chinese domination and influence have placed them culturally closer to East Asians, or more specifically their immediate northern neighbours, the Southern Chinese and other tribes within the proximity of South China.

The ancient Vietnamese people were first known simply as the Lac or Lac Viet in recorded history and the country of Vietnam during that time was known as Van Lang. Archaeological evidence of the bronze age Dong Son Culture, also known as Lac Society, suggest the ancient Vietnamese people were among the first to practice agriculture.

In 258 BC, An founded the kingdom of  in what is now northern Vietnam. In 208 BC, Chao Tuo (known as  in Vietnamese), a former Qin Dynasty general from China, allied with the leaders of the Yue peoples in what is now modern-day Guangdong and declared himself King of Southern Yue. He defeated An  and then combined  with territories in southern China and named his kingdom Nam , or Southern Yue (Nam means "south"). is cognate to Yue, which is the pronunciation of Yue in ancient Chinese and some modern southern Chinese dialects. The term was used in bai yue ("hundred Viet") for the various peoples in what is now southern China, including the regions of northern Vietnam.