The Crazy World of Thai Nicknames

Originally published at into-asia

"The pervasive use of nicknames in this way apparently comes from the old belief that evil spirits are constantly on the lookout for newborn children to snatch away and  control, but using a nickname instead of a normal Thai name confuses  the spirits and helps to keep the child safe."

The weirdest Thai nickname I noticed was Shampoo I think lol

 rainruma:

LOL...It's Chompoo and it means pink in Thai ....

Hahaha :D Are you sure there's no Shampoo as well?

Anyway, I'm not making fun of them, it's just that their language is soo hard to understand (at least to me). Some of the nicknames are cute while the others are WTF!

nicknames are easier to remember. example, my nickname is maya. my real name is so long, it would just be a hassle and frustrating to say it every time someone says my name. real thai names are used more for official use. but i do have friends that use their first name as their nickname if it's short.

I really adore thai names. They are so melodious and very beautiful in my opinion ! When I have a child, I will take a look at those names. “Wanida, Siriya, Nattaya, Sansanee,Tasanee, Falada, Sitata, Janjira , Soraya, Dakivah , Prissana ...” Very beautiful!
But it is true that thai names are often long so they have to use nicknames. And some are really funny, I agree. Such as “Gratin” haha, or “Chit” , “Pink” that I often see; or again “Ken” which reminds me of Barbie’s boyfriend:)

 rainruma:

LOL...It's Chompoo and it means pink in Thai ....

สีชมพู  sii chompuu 

I was shocked when I first started watching Thai dramas but it doesn't faze me anymore! XD

The most shocking I've ever heard was when a ML in a Thai drama was named "Pee". I soldiered on thinking it cant be that bad, but then his mother popped up and said "My Pee". Lost it then :D

No hate to Thai people though! Every country has its own culture and I'm sure my culture might seem strange to others as well..