| Yes everyone says Saigon. (I've lived in Saigon for 7+ years.) In official stuff they'll say Ho Chi Minh City but in casual conversation, I'd guesstimate 80%+ of the time people say Saigon. But if someone drops in a Ho Chi Minh City instead it isn't especially noteworthy. Saigon also gets used on things like, say, book titles: https://www.fahasa.com/sai-gon-ky-an-cuoc-phieu-luu-cua-nhun... or movie titles: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12937684/ Saying "Saigon" doesn't have any particular connotation. Like, it doesn't mean "we refuse to accept the North won" or "we refuse to accept the renaming". (Some Viet Kieu in America are crazy about that kind of thing, though.) It is mostly just that Saigon is two syllables and Ho City Minh City is five syllables. That said: "Saigon" tends to refer to the inner metro area. "Ho Chi Minh City" actually covers a massive area -- it is the size of a province. It is divided into 24 districts and I don't think anyone from the outer 5 rural districts would say they live in "Saigon". Also note that the airport in Saigon still has the code SGN. |