Hùng Vương (English: Hung King) is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Vietnamese rulers of the Hồng Bàng) period. In antiquity this title began to be used for the ruler who was the religious and political leader of united ancient Vietnam. They were kings of Văn Lang of the Lạc Việt.
Legend tells of the dragon lord, Lạc Long Quân and the mountain fairy, (sometimes a Chinese immortal) Âu Cơ who had 100 sons. As the parents belonged to different realms, they parted ways, each taking 50 of the 100 sons to their respective homes. The eldest son went to live by the coast, in the domain of dragons.
The eldest came to power in 2897 BC and became known as Hùng Vương, ruling an area covering what is now North Vietnam and part of southern China. He founded the Hồng Bàng Dynasty, whose members ruled Vietnam until 258 BC. The dynasty existed in Vietnamese prehistory, so much of the lore from this time is now lost to the ages. The descendants took the title of Hùng Vương after the first king, and many Vietnamese folktales include mention them. Stories tell of the heroics of eighteen different Hùng Vươngs (one explains the introduction of the watermelon with the help of Hùng Vương X) but fail to account for the numerous unknown rulers of Vietnam during their two millennia of sovereignty.
The Hồng Bàng Dynasty was overthrown by An Dương Vương (Chinese: 安 陽 王; pinyin: Ānyáng Wáng), but his regime fell first to Triệu Đà (Chinese: 趙 佗; pinyin: Zhào Tuō) and later to the Han Dynasty.
It is likely that the name Hùng Vương is a combination of the two Sino-Vietnamese words Hùng , which means "brave" and Vương, which means "king". The name Hùng Vương might have originally been a title bestowed on a chieftain. The Hùng Vương would have been the head chieftain of Văn Lang which at the time was composed of feudal communities of rice farmers (similar to the way the Holy Roman Emperor was elected to rule by fellow German princes).
The Vietnamese government has recently announced that there will be a new public holiday in Vietnam to celebrate the Hùng kings called Giỗ Tổ Hùng Vương in Hùng temple. It will be on the 10th day of the third lunar month which will next occur on 31 March 2012.