Thai Names

[somtamslap]

Interesting article I read today..thought I'd share..

"Although all Thais have a first name and a family name, everyone is addressed by their first name - even when meeting strangers - prefixed by the title "Khun" (Mr/Mrs); no one is ever addressed as Khun Surname, and even the phonebook lists people by their given name.
In Thailand you will often be addressed in an Anglicized version of this convention, as Mr. Paul or Miss Lucy for example. Bear in mind though, when a man is introduced to you as Khun Pirom, his wife will definetly not be Khun Pirom as well, as that would be like calling them Mr and Mrs Paul (or whatever).

Among friends and relatives, Phii (older brother/sister) is used instead of Khun when addressing older familiars (although as a tourist your on surer ground with Khun) and Nong is used for younger ones.

Many Thai first names come from ancient Sanskrit and have auspicious meaning: for example, Boon means good deeds. Porn means blessings, Sri means glory and Thawee means to increase. However, Thais of all ages are commonly known by the nickname given to them soon after birth rather than their official first name. This tradition arises out of a deep rooted superstition, that once a child has been officially named, the spirits will begin to take an unhealthy interest in them, so a nickname is used instead to confuse the spirits.
Common nicknames - which often bear no resemblence to the adults personality or physique - include, Yai (big) Oun (fat) Muu (pig) Kung (shrimp) Lek or Noi (little) Nok (bird) and English nicknames like Apple and Joy.

Family names were only introduced in 1913 (by Rama Vl, who invented many of the aristocracy's surnames himself) and are only used in very formal situations, always in conjunction with the first name. It's quite usual for good friends to never know each other's surname. Ethnic Thais generally have short surnames like Somboon or Srisai, while the long, convoluted surnames - such as Sonthamsompon - usually indicate Chinese origin, not because they are phonetically Chinese but because many Chines immigrants have chosen to adopt new Thai surnames and Thai law states that every newly created surname must be unique. Thus anyone who wants to change their surname must submit a shortlist of 5 unique Thai names - each to a maximum of 10 Thai characters - to be checked against a database of existing names. As more and more names are taken, Chinese names get increasingly unwieldy, and more easily distinguishable from the pithy old Thai names."

So, Porn is a blessing eh..think they got that one right at least..

My daughter's spirit attracting name is Weeparda, which means something like 'to be worldly wise'..give the lass a chance, she's only 5 months.

Anyone one else got any kids with names with ancient meanings?

[GV 27]

Interesting post, thank you.

A couple of Thai names links

Thai baby names | Thai girl names meaning | Thai boy names meaning

thai-language.com - ?????? » ???????????

[Lobster]

I was told by a friend that you are not allowed to have the middle name of your child be the same as the last name of ANYONE in the country. (apparently it is insulting)

So, your kid could not be John Shinawatra Smith, since there are already a few Shinawatras running around.

My friend said he got rejected for Thai middle names twice by the people that register the birth.

[Bung]

I was going to call my son Benjawaki which if you ask old people they will give a knowing nod, some 3 old famous Buddhas or something but when it came down to it just called him Ben. I have a long Dutch surname and I don't think there are enough boxes in most forms to make it work.

Kind of a cool name though and different.

[good2bhappy]

Araya
Anawin
Ananda

[Chairman Mao]

No need to put the entire article in bold OP... I was gonna read it.

[Bower]

Heavy on the eyes.....but interesting post, Thank you.

[OhOh]

Are "family" names kept after marriage or does the wife adopt the new husbands surname or vice-versa? Likewise do any children of the married couple take the fathers "family" name or the mothers? Does anyone know the correct convention?
Thanks

[Patrick]

Another interesting cultural note:

Thais - particularly older Thais - when seeing a newborn baby will never say "how cute" or "narak" etc., since such compliments are thought to attract the attention of jealous evil spirits who may harm the child.

Indeed Thais wil go to the opposite extreme and remark how ugly the child is "na gliet, na chang" is a popular comment.

If you understand Thai but do not know of this cultural quirk it can be a little upsetting to hear!

Patrick

[Patrick]

Are "family" names kept after marriage or does the wife adopt the new husbands surname or vice-versa? Likewise do any children of the married couple take the fathers "family" name or the mothers? Does anyone know the correct convention?
Thanks

Usually the woman will adopt her new husbands family name, however a recent change in the law gives women the right to retain their own family names after marriage; I am not sure how many women take this option however.

An unmarried woman is addressed as "nangsao", a married woman "nang" .

Patrick

[OhOh]

So do the children take the fathers family name?

[Bingo wings]

Anyone one else got any kids with names with ancient meanings?

johnathan, It can be traced way back.

[genghis61]

Girls:
Wasana - brings good luck
Wanapa - beauty/nice body

and within the 'family' Waewarworn - no one knows the meaning, it is indeed unique, the father who came up with this one is long-deceased.

I've had instances of officials addressing me by my middle name/surname, on basis my first name is just a nickname.

[SEA Traveler]

Slightly contrary to the op’s post, when married my wife had her Thai surname changed to mine and since she did not originally have a middle name, had her surname officially changed to her middle name. No problems. Multi passports, id cards, land ownership papers all with the new name which consists of her Thai first name as her first name. Thai maiden name as her middle name. New Western surname.

[Rural Surin]

Usually the woman will adopt her new husbands family name, however a recent change in the law gives women the right to retain their own family names after marriage; I am not sure how many women take this option however.

An unmarried woman is addressed as "nangsao", a married woman "nang" .

Patrick

Many Thai women still retain/take their family name when married - have so for centuries. Though I'm perplexed as to the reference of a mandated "law" that previously disallowed married women to take the surname of their choosing, as this is still quite practiced today....50 years ago, 200 years ago, etc. Modern invented legalities and rights have little to do with traditional customs, long-practiced.