Thai Nick Names

[macb]

Interesting point maybe:

We all know our partners real names but most of the time they are reffered to by there Thai nicknames:

My wife is called 'Bee' but thats not her real Christian name :

You dont have to divulge your wifes real name, but do you know how she got her nickname ?

Bee Bea Nok Bun Num Ning etc etc

[Jared]

My wifes nickname is Tai, short for Katai Noi which i believe means little Rabbit. I think she said her grandmother choose it because she looked like a little rabbit when she was born.

[samtam]

Interesting point maybe:

My wife is called 'Bee' but thats not her real Christian name :

Christian name, or first name?

Edited April 25, 2007 by samtam

[macb]

Interesting point maybe:

My wife is called 'Bee' but thats not her real Christian name :

Christian name, or first name?

Well first name I would say:

Although nicknames done seem to relate to there real names my wifes First name is Salinthip but her nick is Bee

When we named our Daughter I said Jasmin Gloria but she wanted Gloria Jasmin, but sat the same time said why have two first names, now she says we should have named her Jasmin first hahaha Jasmin Jazz easy for Thais to pronounce

[mr_hippo]

Interesting point maybe:

We all know our partners real names but most of the time they are reffered to by there Thai nicknames:

My wife is called 'Bee' but thats not her real Christian name :

You dont have to divulge your wifes real name, but do you know how she got her nickname ?

Bee Bea Nok Bun Num Ning etc etc

Sorry for being pedantic but is your wife Christian? If she is Buddhist, how can she have a Christian name?

[jayenram]

I was told some time ago by a girl named "Beer" that her mother had chosen that because she'd had a craving for beer during her pregnancy. Not sure about Meow's mum.

[oceanrover]

I was told some time ago by a girl named "Beer" that her mother had chosen that because she'd had a craving for beer during her pregnancy. Not sure about Meow's mum.

Up until my wife was 8 months along, we had decided to name our daughter Mary Pang. Mary being my Grandmother and Pang her Grandmother. We figured that both Thais and Farangs would be able to pronounce her name this was as well. During her 8th month, she asked me what Mary meant as every name in Thai apparently has a meaning behind it. I looked up Mary and it means "Bitter" or "Bitter Sea". I found this rather amusing since my wife complained for the entire pregnancy that everything she ate and drank including water was bitter. My wife, "Noi" did not find it so humorous hence our daughter's name of Malisa Margaret. (I did not even look up Margaret for her.

I find the nick names funny though since they seem to have no connection more or less to their actual names. I told my wife that Thais find their names just as hard to pronounce as we do that is the reason they all have 3 and 4 letter nick names.

Noi, Ning, Ying, Goy, Chin, Pom, Yuu, Gok, Dang, Prin, Tui, Bra, Bee, ect.... The list could go on forever. My favorite is my wife's sister's nick name. "Noi Noi" since my wife had "Noi" first.

Mike in Seattle

[johnsurin]

I was told some time ago by a girl named "Beer" that her mother had chosen that because she'd had a craving for beer during her pregnancy. Not sure about Meow's mum.

Hmmm, I wonder what Poo's mam was craving for, or perhaps it's what she got. A little .........

[mpdkorat]

They also use a lot of western names too. Ann is quite common and so is Eve pronounced eff

[macb]

Interesting point maybe:

We all know our partners real names but most of the time they are reffered to by there Thai nicknames:

My wife is called 'Bee' but thats not her real Christian name :

You dont have to divulge your wifes real name, but do you know how she got her nickname ?

Bee Bea Nok Bun Num Ning etc etc

Sorry for being pedantic but is your wife Christian? If she is Buddhist, how can she have a Christian name?

WEll I think its just an English phrasiology Christian name well she is married to a me so no problem she has my English Surname upon marriage:

Play on words I suppose

[macb]

I was told some time ago by a girl named "Beer" that her mother had chosen that because she'd had a craving for beer during her pregnancy. Not sure about Meow's mum.

Hmmm, I wonder what Poo's mam was craving for, or perhaps it's what she got. A little .........

[Boo]

My husbands name in traditionally one for a girl but it was decided by a monk that it would be fortuitous for him in his life (he did meet me after all so it must be true ) but originally, in the old scriptures his name was that of a king but it doesn't stop him getting the piss taken though when people hear his real name.

His nickname isn't much better & translates to "fat baby" . He has now shortened it even further & his mum is the only one who calls him the full fat baby nick

[britmaveric]

Mate of mine is named Bowling... asked her how she got it? Answer: Her Dad liked Bowling.

[Gimbo]

Mines nic name consis of the first 3 letters in her real name, so sometimes they actually do just shorten that...

[phibunmike]

I understand that some are related to attributes observed when they are babies.

For example, my wife "Air" was the sound of her crying as a baby... "air.. air... air... "

Others, such as Lek and Noi, are more obvious...

Cheers,

Mike

[Bottlerocket]

My wife's nickname is Crow Running with Hungry Spirit Doves because when her dad stumbled drunk out of the teepee the first thing he saw was his black-skinned daughter surrounded by a bunch white backpackers and they were all cooing and cawing.

[macb]

Well I asked the wife where her Nick came from: But she does not know:

I am called Mac and heve been for years, how it came about was from Scouting I am told. But it is better than my first name which I cant stand anyway:

When I ask my Mother why she named me ....... she says I didnt I was not well after the birth and the Nurse gave you that name mmmmmmmmm:

I think Mac stands for Me am cute hahahahaha, now that will command some replies I know

[Boo]

My uncle got named by a nurse too macb. When my nan had him approx 50 years ago, she & the baby were really sick so the priest came & said he had to be christened & as my nan was out of it the nurse named him James & he was christened to save his soul!! When my nan came round & the baby pulled through she deceidd she didn't like James so he has been called Barry (!) his whole life & very few people know his real name

[oceanrover]

My ex-wife's name is Tina. The nurse did not understand her mother's broken Viet-English when she said Gina. Tina has claimed at the most opportune times throughout her life that if her name was Gina things would be different or that she felt like she was living a lie. I find it quite humorous that someone can rationalize what might have been when the road that fate leads you down based on your name or the incorrect name is not to your liking. I was adopted and was not originally named Michael. My wife says that if I had kept my original name I would have been skinnier with more money. What does she know anyway as her name means "nice skin" in Thai. :D

Mike in Seattle

[mrbojangles]

My mrs is a pretty common one "Lek" (small) luckily she is

This thread reminded me of the Indian joke about a boy asking his dad the origin of nick names. With the punchline "why do you ask, 2 dogs <deleted>"

[lampard10]

I know where my nick came from, but I can't see the connection.

Khun f*t g*t

Yorky put 'fat git' on the net, only to be informed by a certain moderator that it was unkind to say those things about people, and he would have to change it. So he did, and f*t g*t was launched. Jugs did the rest, and added Khun, bless her little cotton socks.

Edited April 28, 2007 by lampard10

[Pink Mist]

I prefer shady, to f@t G!t, shady

[lampard10]

I prefer shady, to f@t G!t, shady

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhh Bloncs....................................nice to see you back

[Pink Mist]

Didn't know I'd gone Shady

[billp]

They also use a lot of western names too. Ann is quite common

Actually An or Ann is not western. It means "stout." One actual common western name is "June". I asked one June and she said because that was the month she was born in. Boys sometimes also get this name. In a group I know, there's a "June-boy" and "June-Girl."

[mpdkorat]

They also use a lot of western names too. Ann is quite common

Actually An or Ann is not western. It means "stout." One actual common western name is "June". I asked one June and she said because that was the month she was born in. Boys sometimes also get this name. In a group I know, there's a "June-boy" and "June-Girl."

Not in my dictionary it doesn't, but I do agree that An - Ann is probebly in most cases not western.

[pumpuiman]

My wife is called "Pan" short for "Panthip"

Her nickname with her immediate family (which she doesn't enjoy me being aware of) is "Kee kee aht"........translated it means lazy!!

She would frequently disappear when working on the farm....only to be found napping in the shade somewhere!

[CbrLad]

Contrary to what some think the use of nicknames for Thai's didn't come from the fact they are easier to say. It might be the case for non Thai's but for Thai's it is their language and not so hard to pronounce.

I read (I think it was in the Thai Airways Mag) a year or so back that the practice started because of a belief that there was a sprit that liked to steal children that had good propper Thai names. To fool the sprits the parents gave them simple, some could say silly nicknames, a tradition that still exists today. I understand that it is quite common for a parent to give the nickname at birth and their propper name is often given by a local Monk later.

Oh my ex G/F's nick is Ning (still not 100% sure what that means) and her real name Sukanya, which I understand means beautiful flower.

[Thaddeus]

Contrary to what some think the use of nicknames for Thai's didn't come from the fact they are easier to say. It might be the case for non Thai's but for Thai's it is their language and not so hard to pronounce.

I read (I think it was in the Thai Airways Mag) a year or so back that the practice started because of a belief that there was a sprit that liked to steal children that had good propper Thai names. To fool the sprits the parents gave them simple, some could say silly nicknames, a tradition that still exists today. I understand that it is quite common for a parent to give the nickname at birth and their propper name is often given by a local Monk later.

Oh my ex G/F's nick is Ning (still not 100% sure what that means) and her real name Sukanya, which I understand means beautiful flower.

Correct. (I was waiting for someone else to post the correct answer)

It is a tradition that has been going on for centuries, children are never called by their real name as once the Bpee Saad Noi (small demon) knows your real name he can get control over you.

It has nothing to do with pronunciation, although some do use the English translation of their nickname for non-thai speakers. For example, a few months ago I was in a bar in what used to be a small fishing village, one of the waitresses said her name was 'apple' when a new round of drinks was required I called to her as 'bpun' she came to the table (and she started with her back to us, so it wasn't just a 'that man just said something to me' thing)

They can be a shortening of the full name or something totally different. My first wifes real name is Lamai (c'mon Bpee Saad, do your thing) her nickname was Kae, one of our neighbours is also named Lamai and she gets called Mai.

My current, and hopefully last wife, is called On, her given name is Bang-On ....... still makes me chuckle after all these years.

(apologies for not being able to use Thai script, I'm on a Mac and that is the only painful feature)

//edit/added last line

Edited April 29, 2007 by Thaddeus

[Jamie]

I thought it had something to do with cursing. If a person didn't know your real name, they could not curse you.