Guest chicolby Posted March 10, 2014 Posted March 10, 2014 So in preparation for my upcoming trip to Thailand, I've met a handful of Thai guys on Planet Romeo and I'm always intrigued by some of the names of the guys I've met. Names like Beer, Boy, Pon, etc. Just curious, are these their given names, or somehow names that they've chosen when speaking with foreigners? Thanks for any insight you can share. Quote
Alexx Posted March 10, 2014 Posted March 10, 2014 Those are just their nicknames. Some use the same nickname for their family and for their various circles of friends, others different ones with different groups of people. Quote
baobao Posted March 10, 2014 Posted March 10, 2014 Just curious, are these their given names, or somehow names that they've chosen when speaking with foreigners? One size doesn't fit all, but over the years I've learned there are several reasons/means for guys to be given nicknames, although girls have them, too - probably gained the same way. Most guys I've talked with said their father gave them their nickname, but it's often something that happens just as it does in other cultures, too: a tall, thin child gets called "Slim" by their friends, and it sticks, etc. If you get to know a club worker they may eventually learn they have a "stage" name, too... i.e. Trixie Delight, Madeline Kahn's name in the movie "Paper Moon". Who you meet as "Nit" in the club may be "Lek" to his family at home. My favorite has long been the friend who was small at birth and had a high, piercing cry. His father called him "Jeab", pronounced as a short word in a high tone. His father said he sounded like a baby chick! Quote
Bob Posted March 10, 2014 Posted March 10, 2014 Most Thais are given their nicknames by their parents when they're born and rarely does anybody use their real names (except for official purposes). Some change their nicknames (and real names) at times, believing the new name is stronger or will bring better luck. I have no clue about the internet nicknames but I suspect some are just made-up names for obvious purposes. baobao 1 Quote
kokopelli Posted March 10, 2014 Posted March 10, 2014 Does anyone know if these nicknames relate to English words? My guess is that Boy does not mean boy; Toy doesn't mean toy;Tom doesn't mean Tom; Gun doesn't mean gun, etc, etc The term for these word relationships is false friends, words in different languages that sound the same but have different meaning. Just a guess on my part? ChristianPFC 1 Quote
Guest colinr Posted March 10, 2014 Posted March 10, 2014 Some nicknames are false friends as Kokopelli suggests. Some do derive from English eg Bik or Big was presumably a large baby or was large in some particular (hint: this seems to be a boys only nickname). Some relate to the baby's appearance eg Uan = fat. Daing = red. Not sure if this applies to animal nicknames eg Moo = pig. Nicknames are usually conferred at birth and often by grandparents. Sometimes they don't seem to mean anything. Quote
williewillie Posted March 10, 2014 Posted March 10, 2014 Tum is a popular nickname. Farangs hear Tom when they ask the boys name, Lek means small, Dang means the color red, Noi also word for small Gai is one of my favorites and it's Thai for chicken. Sounds like guy. Quote
Guest abang1961 Posted March 11, 2014 Posted March 11, 2014 I believe the trend of using a "nickname" is quite common in Asia, not just in Thailand. In most Asian cities, the use of Western/Christian names are prevalent. There are scores of Andrew, David and Kelvins nowadays. I have an almost im-pronounceable Cantonese name and the nuns from the Catholic church nearby gave me a Christian name when I was probably 3. The name stuck and I use it till now.. At the very least, Roland, the name is an almost direct translation of my Chinese name 峰 (mountain peak). I do like the Thai nicknames. They are usually mono-syllable and when you call it out, it sounds sexy and affectionate. Quote
Bob Posted March 11, 2014 Posted March 11, 2014 Koko, yes,many of those names mean exactly as they sound - the Thais adopt as nicknames (sometimes family-given names and other times self-adopted) all sorts of English words and plain letters. So "A", "Boy", "Sam", "Toto", and a ton of others are exactly what you think you're hearing. if you ask them to spell it and they spell it in English, they mean the English word. Sometimes, as Willie notes, a Thai nickname from a Thai word sounds like a western word to us (as Willie points out, the Thai word for chicken or ไก่ sounds like our English word "guy" if said with a low tone; on the other hand, I know at least two Thais who sport the nickname "Guy" and they spell it that way and took the word directly from English). Thais are often fascinated with foreign words, sometimes just because they perceive they are "cool" and not because they necessarily have a clue as to what any of the words mean. I've asked a whole lot of Thais I've met what a given weird English logo or phrase on a tee-shirt (that they're wearing) means and more often than not they have no idea. I've told the story before of running into a little old Thai granny walking her 8-9 year old granddaughter down a dirt soi in a dinky northern village, the cute little girl wearing a black tee shirt with the words "FUCK ME" prominently displayed on the front. I'm sure they all thought the t-shirt was cool but I'm also fairly sure none of them had a clue what the words meant. kokopelli and vinapu 2 Quote
vinapu Posted March 11, 2014 Posted March 11, 2014 I asked boy from Hero where his nickname "O ' is coming from and what it means and he told me that this is how his family is always calling him. Quote
pong Posted March 11, 2014 Posted March 11, 2014 Again something that is explained in about any mainstream guidebook,and in that old faithful TMOT. A or 1 (neung) is usually the 1st (child-or son). For the 2nd its only B and not ''song'' though. Its also a fad of modernity and hipness-some years bring loads of ''Bank'', then we get the ''Kitty'' (mostly girls or katoeys-from helloKitty), and that old faithful Lek seems to diminish. Often these nicknames are changed at certain stages of life or when it is felt bad luck is too much. Or there may be more as 1 to use in separate circles. Just like the chase for the this time surely winning lotteree-nmbrs, monks can be consulted-for a fee- to ask for an appropriate new name. Even close friends wont know the official first name that is printed on the ID or passpt. Quote
Alexx Posted March 11, 2014 Posted March 11, 2014 Thais are often fascinated with foreign words, sometimes just because they perceive they are "cool" and not because they necessarily have a clue as to what any of the words mean. I've asked a whole lot of Thais I've met what a given weird English logo or phrase on a tee-shirt (that they're wearing) means and more often than not they have no idea. I've told the story before of running into a little old Thai granny walking her 8-9 year old granddaughter down a dirt soi in a dinky northern village, the cute little girl wearing a black tee shirt with the words "FUCK ME" prominently displayed on the front. I'm sure they all thought the t-shirt was cool but I'm also fairly sure none of them had a clue what the words meant. Very true! An ex-boyfriend's mother, who speaks very little English, nicknamed her daughter Toon, simply because she was fascinated with cartoons. And that's just one example, many Thais have funny stories to tell about how their nickname(s) came about. Regarding t-shirts, a couple of days ago I saw a Thai Muslim girl, veiled and otherwise decently dressed, sporting a t-shirt reading, "I'll go to hell". Quote
NIrishGuy Posted March 11, 2014 Posted March 11, 2014 As well as all of the above and answers such as ease of remembering a child's nick name or it being given the name of the first thing the parent sees etc there is also the angle of the child being given a "false" ( nick) name immediately at birth so that the spirits can't hear or find out the child's real name to avoid them being able to haunt / possess / bring bad luck ( or something like that ??) to the child in it's life. vinapu 1 Quote
baobao Posted March 11, 2014 Posted March 11, 2014 As well as all of the above and answers such as ease of remembering a child's nick name or it being given the name of the first thing the parent sees etc. Sorry... after that comment I can't resist passing along the old joke: The young native comes to the elder of the village and asks "Tell me, oh wise one... how is it we young braves get our distinctive names?" The elder replies "The father stays with the mother in the tent until the child is born. If it's a boy child he immediately goes outside, and the first thing he sees is what the child is called. That's why you hear names like Running Bear and Mighty Oak. Why do you ask, Two Dogs Fucking?" vinapu 1 Quote
ChristianPFC Posted March 12, 2014 Posted March 12, 2014 Does anyone know if these nicknames relate to English words? Some of these nicknames are real English words, written in Thai letters. You can easily recognize them in Thai language, as they often have Garan to mute a letter and Mai Tri tone mark (both of which is rare in Thai words). One would have to look at recordings for nick names over the years, which one appeared parallel with influx of English speaking foreigners into Thailand (Vietnam war and tourism after that). Quote
