Hi All,

My wife and I are going to have a baby next year, we don't know yet if it'll be a girl or boy (Ideally we'll wait for a surprise, but apparently sometimes it's obvious just by taking a glimpse of the ultrasound).

Anyway, I did a quick search and it seemed like names are meant to be "Thai" names?

But this restriction is "usually" waived by the Amphur if they have a foreign parent?

So anything, provided it's translated into Thai Script, is ok?

Most of the guys I know with kids who were born here have Thai names, I'm not sure if they selected Thai names because they wanted Thai names or because they had to. So it has me concerned, as I want the choice.

As we want our children (We're planning on having a few lol) to have names which are easy to say in both Thai and English (Probably an English name which doubles up as a Thai nickname like Jame or Anne), so that they can easily be a part of both worlds.

As we think they're more likely to be treated favorably with an English sounding legal name (In Thailand Leuk Kreung are generally looked upon favourably and in Farangland people are sometimes wary of English fluency if they see a very foreign sounding name).

The only time I could see having a name like Jamie or Anne being a disadvantage might be if they represent Thailand in sport/politics, or at English speech competitions, as it'll remind ppl that they're only half Thai (If it's not already apparent from their features).

Our intention is to live in Thailand but to take regular trips back to NZ every year + encourage our kids to attend university in NZ (And possibly high school, if I can save enough to send them to boarding school in NZ).

Anyway, what do you guys think? Are there any good reasons to go with a Thai name rather than English?

And what names can you think of which are used in both languages other than Jame & Anne?

Edit: Oh and we're not planning on having a middle name, as I think having one probably confuses Thais more than what non Thais are confused by ppl not having one). Any thoughts on this logic is also welcome.

My daughters name is Angela. No problems registering birth. Friends call her Ann as a nickname

You can use a foreign name without a problem. Just make sure that you spell the name correct in thai.

My daughter has a western name, nothing Thai about it, no problems registering it anywhere.

When we were choosing names we didn't think about whether it should be Thai or English or anything else. Instead we thought about names which people would be able to properly pronounce even if they're Thai or English. We thought about both mine and my wife's grandmother's as an example. 'Could Grandma say it' became kind of the acid test. We didn't want our child to be born and certain members of our families, not be able to even say her name in the correct way.

We finally came up with a name that suites both languages, but it is very much an English (or western at least) name.

Somchai is easily pronounced in english and much liked by the Thais. ??

I always like the idea a girls name is Mums job, boys name is Dads.

Then depends on length of your last name, imo.

My last name is quite long so babies name was short.

Rupert

My friend had a boy here and named it Michael.....

Western names are no problem.

The name on the birth certificate is in Thai writing only and there are no Thai letters for V and Z they are replaced with W and S and the R sound can become an L if transliterated to western script.

So when you need official translations you need to make sure they do it right.

Rose is a beautiful name for a girl, and is back in fashion....

Daughter due in 3 months. I was looking up most popular names in Oz. I liked Mia. The missus just stared at me and scowled. Took me 15 minutes to figure out why

I think as much as anything it would depend how it sounds along with your last (family) name.......

I suggest a Thai name and English nick name. And agree with you choose a name that can easily be spelt in English as well and doesn't raise any eyebrows. (Ie stay away from anything with porn)

Personal preference for a girl...I've always liked this one.....ดาว

If I am not mistaken it is "Dow" and means "Star"...

Please....just give the kid a normal name so no one will misspell the name or misunderstand the name while other children will not ridicule the child because of the name.

Stick to the basics.

Example: Kayne West and his wife Kim Kardashian go and name their child "North" as in my name is "North West"....

Hmmmmmmm

The kid is going to get ridiculed for sure as children can be so creatively evil when they ridicule and poke fun at other children.

Cheers

Rupert

When I was a child I knew a dog named Rupert and a dog named Rover...but they did not know one another.

Sir

the most popular name in England is Mohamad

So, SlyAnimial, even though you are a KIWI AND beat us in the first game if the Rugby League 4 Nations Cup last week-end ... I'll overlook that!

We had Twin Boys earlier this year so recently went though that process.

The Boys have Western first names. Plus, my Family name is a single syllable ... so we chose their first name which are a dual syllable and that combination sounds fine when the boys first names and Family names are said together. So Western First and Surnames.

Then we decided that the boys should have Thai Middle names.

How did we chose them? They were chosen after they were born.

Why 'after' ... well you don't know the 'Day' they will be born.

Thais are a superstitious lot, so there is a list of names, available on the internet, based on the day they are born. The boys second names were chosen from that list.

More below ...

I'm from NZ, where Mohammed didn't even make the top100 (Oliver, Jack, James, William & Mason were the top5 in 2013). So Mohammed isn't an option which I've considered :-p

I've added a couple of names to the list so far though, based on this thread. Once I pick my top 5 or 10 I'll need to have a chat with my wife about them lol.

Now SA ... to a man, if your partner is Thai, and has some influence on the day your child is born, most likely it won't be a Wednesday and definitely a Wednesday night ... she'll cross her legs and wait till Thursday morning!

Don't assume that the Amphur that you go to for registering the Birth is the same as the one as where your Home is, or the one your Lassie is registered in. Ring and confirm. Initial registration relies on the Hospital where the birth occurred ... as we found out after a long drive to the wrong Amphur.

TIP Forget the rubbish from the west of 'Oh no ... we don't want to know the baby's sex till it born ... major BS.

Find out what you are having and plan accordingly.

If it's a boy, you will know after about 10 - 12 weeks by playing 'spot the sausage' in the scan.

TIP Once you have decided on the child's non-thai names, presumably before the birth, find a place that is authorised to do the translation for your Embassy and get the kids English names and YOUR name and birth address (in case it's needed) translated into Thai. Get this in writing. Then, when the child is born, go back to the same agency and the process is simplified because the same person is doing the translation in and out of Thai.

TIP Get copies of the translation of the translated birth certificate. The agency asked for Bt 200 for each, but I negotiated that down to Bt 100 and got 3 copies for each child. Great for when they apply for Duel Citizenship, decide to live in NZ or any other English speaking place.

I'm full or it ... well, Tips anyway. You are welcome to PM if I could help you.

Other recommended reading ...

naming-your-newborn-getting-right-the-first-time

unwed-mother-babies-surname-what-is-possible

should-i-feel-guilty-about-using-dummies

private-hospital-childbirth definitely read that one

australia-baby-in-thailand-vaccines

baby-formula-milk-any-reviews

Sadly, all penned by me ...

.

Cheers for the tips.

A hefty reading list, although I've got plenty of time

We're not planning on asking for the sex of the baby, but we're not going to look away during ultrasounds either.

My wife isn't too superstitious, so the day of the week etc shouldn't matter, although if there's any control in the matter we might try and manipulate the day a little (Due date is during songkran, which could complicate getting to the hospital, not to mention the effect on birthdays etc aswell lol).

Although I think that'd only be an option if we scheduled a C section (Which based on my family history, might be a prudent option).

At the Amphor were my daughter was born they were extremely strict about foreign names and did check in a big black book if we could have the name we chose. However, things may have changed, it’s 9 years ago now, and one Amphor may have different practice from another. Anyway even they tried hard, the could now find any good arguments not to approve our chosen name...

Names like Ann and Kim are possibilities and pronounced same in both Western and Thai – also works as both short name and name. Some Thai names may be cute in Western, like “Rung” (Rainbow, presume mainly female name, long Thai name can Rungarung [Rung-a-rung]). Middle names seem to be accepted (for leuk kreung), even not usual among Thais.

David 48 gave you some good tips in his post (#20) above.

If your child is going to have your family name, you shall have it (your passport) translated to Thai by an authorized translator and double check that it is pronounced correctly in Thai (so difficult to change later, but can be done).

When having English translations done make sure they carry the translators name and signature, and a separate page with translator’s ID-card and signature. You may need translation of for example Birth Certificate legislated by the Thai Foreign Ministry, and they can be little strict, when used in your own embassy for Dual Citizenship.

Wish you good luck...

I forgot to add, the gf's Thai Father gave their their nicknames for when they are in Thailand.

Big and Boss ...

For proof of my details, do you know if they accept a yellow book or Thai driver's licence rather than a passport? (Would seem like doubling up to get my passport translated when I already have documents issued from the Thai govt with my details in Thai).

As I already have my name in Thai in both.

Hi SlyAnimal

We have a little boy now aged 4 and a little girl aged 2, unlike you ours were born in the UK and that is were we are raising them so our choice is possibly a little different to you.

At the time our compromise to both cultures was to give them western first names and Thai middle names, a decision we do not regret.

We also desided we wanted the Wifes family to feel envolved even though they were so far away, so we asked them to chose the Thai middle names.

Of course if they had chosen something really horrible we would have asked them to chose again.

As David48 said these names were dependent on the day they were born so the choice was made after they were born after consultation with the stars.

Our local hospital asked us if we wanted to know the sex of the babies and we made it clear we didn't want to know until the day.

Good Luck and enjoy the journey

For proof of my details, do you know if they accept a yellow book or Thai driver's licence rather than a passport? (Would seem like doubling up to get my passport translated when I already have documents issued from the Thai govt with my details in Thai).

As I already have my name in Thai in both.

If you are referring to your name on the Birth Certificate, for all the hospital cares, you name could be Khun Sly Animial ... the birth certificate will be in Thai as will the Fathers recorded details. No point showing the Hospital anything in English as they, most likely, won't care.

I'm just looking now at the translation of the boys Birth Certificate .. just has my name, my age, my nationality and my residence is given as Australia.

For proof of my details, do you know if they accept a yellow book or Thai driver's licence rather than a passport? (Would seem like doubling up to get my passport translated when I already have documents issued from the Thai govt with my details in Thai).

As I already have my name in Thai in both.

I will presume so – but better check with the Amphor before, as each one may have own “rules”.

Thai DL seems like a fairly easy procedure, whilst Yellow House Book can be anything from handed out almost like a freebee, including health card for local hospital, or a complex process like in my case, with official lawyer translation with the correct rubber stamps of name approved by notary, interview, and two so-called “witnesses” who knew me and of which one was trustworthy government employee (almost like applying for permanent residency apart from language test and hefty fee).

For proof of my details, do you know if they accept a yellow book or Thai driver's licence rather than a passport? (Would seem like doubling up to get my passport translated when I already have documents issued from the Thai govt with my details in Thai).

As I already have my name in Thai in both.

If you are referring to your name on the Birth Certificate, for all the hospital cares, you name could be Khun Sly Animial ... the birth certificate will be in Thai as will the Fathers recorded details. No point showing the Hospital anything in English as they, most likely, won't care.

I'm just looking now at the translation of the boys Birth Certificate .. just has my name, my age, my nationality and my residence is given as Australia.

»I'm just looking now at the translation of the boys Birth Certificate .. just has my name, my age, my nationality and my residence is given as Australia.«

Note to David:

I had my daughter’s Birth Certificate translated to English by a local translator, which we double checked ourself, that worked fine for anything like air tickets, Thai Passport and ID-card. Later when applying for Dual Citizenship my Country demands documents and translations legalized by Thai Foreign Ministry and thereafter approved by my embassy in Bangkok. Needed a new Birth Certificate translation from an approved translator, with translator’s name, stamp and signature plus ID-card. Got rejected by the Thai Legislation Office, which seems extremely strict about minor details, as fathers (my) nationality were stated “Nationality: Denmark – Country: Denmark” (presume it’s written like that in Thai language), but that should be: “Nationality: Danish – Country: Denmark” – would be something like “Australian” and “Australia” in your case. Need to start the process all over with new translation...

For proof of my details, do you know if they accept a yellow book or Thai driver's licence rather than a passport? (Would seem like doubling up to get my passport translated when I already have documents issued from the Thai govt with my details in Thai).

As I already have my name in Thai in both.

I only provided my passport and wrote my name in Thai and that was it in the hospital where our daughter was born.

Hi SlyAnimal

We have a little boy now aged 4 and a little girl aged 2, unlike you ours were born in the UK and that is were we are raising them so our choice is possibly a little different to you.

At the time our compromise to both cultures was to give them western first names and Thai middle names, a decision we do not regret.

We also desided we wanted the Wifes family to feel envolved even though they were so far away, so we asked them to chose the Thai middle names.

Of course if they had chosen something really horrible we would have asked them to chose again.

As David48 said these names were dependent on the day they were born so the choice was made after they were born after consultation with the stars.

Our local hospital asked us if we wanted to know the sex of the babies and we made it clear we didn't want to know until the day.

Good Luck and enjoy the journey

This is the same approach we took. Middle name Thai first/last western.

We're not going to raise them in Thailand and I want them to have some connection.

A friend gave his son all western names which I think will distance the child from half his heritage.