Thai Names

Don’t you just hate when everyone has your name? In a sea of Johns or Jennifers, you become defined by your last initial. Well, no more! I have a solution for you! For all of you expectant parents out there, here are some quirky and unique names for you to choose from, courtesy of Thailand!

There’s Einstein and Atom, Mafia and Boss,

Sibling pairs like Versailles and Venice, Violin and Piano,

Classics such as Cheese and Milk, Bike and Book, or

Stand-outs like PlanktonBouquet, Touch, and Titi,

You can be Famous, the Best, a Bonus, or just Wow Wow!

You can be a Party or you can be Mild, cold as Ice or a Saint,

Then there’s First and Third, or simply Nine.

You can be a Proud Captain or you can be a Fluke.

Or you can be the most polite kid around and be Thankyou.

Whatever you choose, know that you hang the Sun over the Earth!

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Living in Thailand has its idiosyncrasies, as every place does. I embrace its vibrancy and quirkiness. One of the things that I find so different than other places I’ve lived, so uniquely Thai, is the names people have. I’m not talking about their names in Thai, most of which consist of 23 letters and are unpronounceable to me. What I’m referring to are the English names they choose for their children. Some may say they’re unusual, others may say they’re weird. I’m going to go with quirky.

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26 thoughts on “Thai Names

  1. Kate Schwarz

    In my Thai village there was a “Menu”–that was my favorite. Hopefully if she received a scholarship for college abroad, she switched that nickname. Cute!

    Reply
  2. cvarsalona

    Thank you for sharing this very interesting post. Names are important in our family right now since it is the topic of conversation for my daughter’s new addition. I was wondering if you would like to offer a photo from Thailand for my Winter Wonder Gallery that I am working on now (just so people can see what the other side of the world looks like when the states have winter? The link to the invitation is on the right side of today’s slice http://beyondliteracylink.blogspot.com/2017/03/march-musings-18-celebrate-your-life.html.

    Reply
  3. karpenglish

    Fascinating information. Why to do Thai parents give their children English names (nicknames?) in addition to their Thai names? I really, really hope that Mafia and Boss are siblings. Also Cheese and Milk! This post is a great testament to the way words sound and roll off the tongue, as opposed to what they mean.

    Reply
    1. aggiekesler Post author

      I think they give them nicknames to be more “Western” but also because it’s very difficult to pronounce their actual names. They are seriously long! I think they do just like the sounds, not really caring about the meanings. Sadly, Mafia and Boss aren’t siblings. 😦

      Reply
      1. karpenglish

        Darn it! You’ll have to make Mafia and Boss be honorary siblings. That is just too funny. I can understand the Thai names being difficult for Westerners to pronounce, but you’d think the Thai families could figure it out. They are really long though, so that is a problem if you are trying to tell your kid to put their shoes on right now, or yell at them not to run into traffic or something. 😀

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