Sawatdee ka,
I got a question from one of my YouTube viewers asking what my nickname ‘Mod’ means, so I post this question on my Facebook page and received a few more questions regarding nicknames. A few people would like to know the most common Thai nicknames, so I searched for it and found “Top 10 most common Thai nicknames” surveyed by the The Ministry of Culture of Thailand.
1.เมย์ May /may/ : It is a girl’s nickname. I am sure every May was born in May.
2.พลอย Ploy/ploy/ : It is a girl’s nickname, meaning precious stone or gem.
3.แนน Nan /naen/ : It is a girl’s nickname. This is not Thai language, these days Thai parents like to name their children with Western names.
4.ไอซ์ Ice /ái/ : It is both girl and boy’s name. It is a fashion nowadays that Thai parents choose an English word they think it sounds cool or cute to name their babies.
5.แบงค์ Bank : Boy’s name. Yep! It is another English word-that-sounds-cool-to-Thai-ears name.
6.น้ำ Nahm /náam/ means ‘water’. It’s a girl’s name.
7.ฟ้า Fah /fáa/ : Girl’s name meaning ‘sky’, ‘blue color’, or the short word for นางฟ้า /naang-fáa/ meaning ‘angel’
8.นิว New /niu/ : It is both girl and boy’s name. Another chosen English word.
9.บอล Ball /bon/ : boy’s name, as in round object you kick or throw or hit in a game
10.เบียร์ Beer /bia/ : Yes, it is ‘beer’ like in English meaning. Please don’t ask me why parents would want to name their children like this. Hopefully they are not alcoholic. 😛
I was laughing when I read these names in the list because I know many people with those names. I think I know about 10 guys named บอล “Ball”.
Once in a while my friends and I discuss the topic ‘Why new- generation Thai parents have to name their babies with weird nicknames?’. The most strange nickname I ever heard of is สเตตัส ‘status’ , this is a name of my high school mate’s baby boy. She did update a lot of Facebook statuses during her pregnancy.
Thai kids in my generation or my parent’s are named after cute and small animals like แมว Maew (cat), นก Nok (bird), ปู Poo (crab), ปลา Pla (fish), กวาง Kwang (deer) etc. Those names seem to be uninteresting in present day, so people came up with some cooler names like “แร็คคูน”(Raccoon) who has brothers named “บีเวอร์” (Beaver) and “ชิพมั้งค์” (Chipmunk)!!
If you think those names are not weird enough, a famous Thai actor named his baby boy แอร์บัส (Airbus). He probably would like his son to be a pilot in the future:)
There are still so many exotic Thai nicknames on my list that I have to write Part 2 and 3. I would like you to share more exotic Thai nicknames you know:)
Nickname in Thai is ชื่อเล่น /chue (falling tone) – len (falling tone)/ ; ชื่อ/chue (falling tone)/ means ‘name’ , เล่น / len (falling tone)/ means ‘play’.
Fact: Every Thai person has a first name and a nickname aka chue len. Parents give their children a chue len, in addition to a formal given name. 80% of cases the chue len is a single syllable. Occasionally, the chue len is a shortened version of the first name, but more often it is completely unrelated. The first name is used only in formal situation, or outside personal life; for example when doing business transactions. In informal case chue len is commonly used and even introduced oneself to a new friend, and the other may not discover the person’s formal name 🙂
King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s nickname is Ong Lek (องค์เล็ก); Ong is a numerative noun for kings, princes, princesses, priests, images of Buddha, gods, angels, palaces, pagodas; “Lek” means “little (one)”, a common name for younger siblings.
Do you know anyone named in the Top 10 list?
🙂
มด Mod
Hi Mod, I lived in Thailand for 4 years but no longer have social media to ask my friends this question. Is the girl’s name Sanoh considered modern or old-fashioned? And is it a common name or quite rare? I have always wanted to give my daughter a Thai middle name as a tribute to how much I love the country
hi k. mod,
i watched a series where the pra ek called the nang ek “muay” , does it have any particular meaning? thank youu :))))
hi k. mod,
i watched a series pra ek called the nang ek “muay” , what does it mean? thank youu :))))
Sawatdii ka Khun Afi,
Muay (pronounced with middle tone) means “boxing”
Muay (pronounced with rising tone) means “Chinese looking girl”, this is a common nickname for Thai girls who have Chinese linage.
Hello! How do you write the nickname “Nook” in Thai script? Thank you!
It is นุ้ก 🙂
The five most common girls nicknames I seem to come across are Ploy, Puy (Pui), Dao (Daw), Fah and Tak.
Tak is always subject for some amusement, when I tell the girl it means Thanks in Danish.
Over the years i have randomly met some peculiar and rare names. I have met a guy named Katae, which is normally a girls nickname, but he liked carrots when he was a kid, so they called him Rabbit after Bugs Bunny. Some where named after brands. There have been a girl named Nest after Nestle chocolate, another guy named Ad after Adidas clothing. Etc.
The top prize goes to a friend of my wife, her nickname is Maggi. In the beginning i thought she might have been named after Margaret Thatcher, who was called Maggie. She told me, that wasn’t the case. Apparently during the first few weeks after she was born, an uncle had given her an empty box of Maggi Bouillon Cubes and she was very interested in that box – maybe it smelled nice – but eventually Maggi was chosen as her nickname. And it gets even more strange. While at first, she will introduce herself as Maggi, but everyone close to her, family and old close friends etc will call her Ja, which is shortened from her real name Benjawan.
And me? My wife just calls me ไวกิ้ง or บ้า (when she is joking with me)
hi Mod,
how about nickname “Pang”, what does it means?
I’m a Chinese male, but when I visit to Thailand, some people said my name is a girl name? is it real?
Sawatdii ka Diego, I am sorry for the late reply, I just saw your comment today.
The word “Pang” in Thai can be written แพง /paeng/ which means “expensive” or แป้ง /bpâeng/ which means “powder”. Both words are commonly used as a female nickname.
Hi,
thanks for your article K. Mod, it;s been very helpful.
How common is ทราย, Thrāy as a girls nick name?
thanks T
Thank you reading my post. The name ทราย is very common. I have a few friends named ทราย too.
Hello. I once read the female nickname “Phan” which means “alter; change” on Behind the Name website, but I wonder if it’s a common nickname or simply a creative name uniquely made up by parents?
Thai nicknames are usually common names chosen by the parents, but some new generation parents like to make up an unusual nickname for example a person I know gave the nickname to her son “status” or “Boeing”.
Hello, Mod.
Do you think nicknames taken from gemstones, like ruby (Thabthim? Manee?), amber (Amphan), or sapphire (Phailin) are good? I’m thinking about naming triplets.
Thank you again for this great article.
I think the names taken from gemstones are beautiful. Manee, Phailin and Thabthim are common Thai names. 🙂
Hi Mod,
is Poy is female nickname, or a unisex one?
It is female nickname.
Different topic
Often Thai posts in FB that are translated contain the english word “cuddle”
Is is used the same way as in english? Warm hug?
I sense it is used to mean something different in Thai language…
‘Cuddle bhat” for example. Thanks for helping me.
I am sorry I don’t understand this word without a context. Can you please give me a sentence example?
Its an error with facebook translator. I dont know thai well, I havent figured out what they are miss-translating but yeah they do it a lot and its occasionally really inappropriate.
Hi y’all, to use the word cuddle in a sentence: Tina and Joe like to cuddle at night, warm in bed. I guess it would be like embracing each other softly. Not sure how that translate into Thai.
Tara
i want to have a thai nickname. is the name lemon good for boy?
Lemon sounds like a girl name. 🙂
My sister and her boyfriend call eachother “kha-men,” i was wondering what it means. Also my brother and i have thai names, “lat-dee-gan” and “bull-ah-pa,” i was wondering if these had any meaning behind them? (Sorry for not being able to use the Thai language)
So do you know is Maew a male or female name? unisex?
Maew is female name.
My baby was born in Bangkok.. His name is Axel Z. Pramudya. would you like to give him nickname?
Axel is already a beautiful name. 🙂
I know an English person who teaches Muay Thai boxing and has changed their name to Sai. What does the name mean please?
Sai could be the word ทราย /saai/ which means “sand”, or it could be ไทร /sai/ which means “banyan tree”. The name ‘sand’ is common nickname for girls in Thailand. 🙂
Does ‘Thar’ name has any meaning to it?
I am sorry I can’t tell the meaning from reading English written name. Can you find a Thai spelling?
What does Pakomon Thai name mean?
I am sorry I can’t tell the meaning of a name without seeing it in the Thai script.
Hello Mod,
I’ve met a girl from Thailand and I was trying to find her on facebook or instagram. Her name I think it was Paphawee (?) but her nickname was May or Yinmay. Do you think you can help me by writing her name in thai since I can’t find any information on that name. Thank you.
Sawatdee ka John,
I am sorry for my late response. There are several ways to write a Thai name, because it is a specific name so the spelling can be different. I might get the spelling wrong. Also people may not use their real name on Facebook, it might be difficult to find their account. I am sorry I can’t help you this time.
Hi Mod I met a fine girl in Bangkok…her name sounds like “niu” or ” new” …I tried fecebook without success …could you nelp in find similar names …? Thank you Andrea 😘
Hi Andrea,
Could it be “นุ้ย nui”?
Thank you Mod !! ..🤗🤗..I Will try…happy New year..!! 😘😘😘😘
What are the three male names that you find beautiful? )
There are many nice male names for example; ภูริ Puri , กริช Grit, ติณห์ Tin . 🙂
Hello Mod! Is the nickname “แหวว” (Waew) a common one there?
I am very grateful for your website! So much useful information here!
Greg 🙂
Yes, แหวว (wear) is a common girl nickname in Thailand. 🙂
Thai Girl whispered something that sounded like “Nemo” but I didn’t understand fully. What could the name be?
It could be “นะโม Namo” which means modesty.
Possible anything else that could sound close? Thanks!
What does the name Momay mean? It’s spelled โมเม
โมเม is a verb which means “assume that something is yours when it is not.” However this word became a common nickname for girls. Some people think the word sounds cute.
Sawatdee ka, Mod. My mother is Thai, and my formal name is Sootreerat July (Khadakada) and my nickname is Ja’a (Peekaboo) as I got older, we never adapted my nickname to a more adult version. However, my question has to do with my first name. She had always translated it to mean “morning dew”, but a few years ago, at the Temple, the monk told my mother that I had a beautiful name meaning ‘beautiful woman’ I am curious as to whether there are regional transitions to it, or which is the best translation. I am sorry, I cannot read or write in Thai, so have no idea how to do so. I can tell you the pronunciation is more like -Soot Lee Lat with a pretty even (if clipped) cadence, when spoken.
Thank you,
Soo
Sawatdee ka Sootreerat, thank you for visiting my website. I am sorry for my late reply.
I am afraid I can’t find the meaning of a name when I don’t know how the name is spelled. I tried to spell your name different ways in Thai and look for the meaning on the internet, but I couldn’t find anything as I probably spell it incorrectly. There are many possible ways to spell one name. I am sorry I can’t be helpful this time.
Hi,
I got to know a lady called “Fern” (pronounces herself like “phon”.
What would that meaining be? Thanks.
Fern is a common girl nickname in Thailand, it is English word “fern” the plant.
If it’s pronounced Phon/Fon could it be Rain?
Yes, it could be. ฝน /fŏn/ means “rain”. 🙂
Is Ohm (or Om?) a common Thai nickname for a girl? And could you tell me the meaning behind the name, please.
Thank you.
There are common girl nicknames that sound very similar. It could be อ้อม Aom (pronounced with falling tone), ออม (pronounced with middle tone) or อ๋อม (pronounce with rising tone). I am afraid I can’t tell the right word by reading the English writing.
Met a Wonderful Thai lady, she told me her name is “O” 👌🏼? Not sure if this is a nick name or regular name. If it is a nick name. What would her real name be? Looking to get to know her better.
Usually a one-syllable name is a nickname. I am sorry I wouldn’t know her real name because commonly the real name and the nickname are not related.
What does zoom mean in Thai. My moms nickname.
I meant Pom
The reason for Thai nicknames is that a hundred years ago Thailand did not have surnames. Which was in fact a better system then today. The nickname fluke comes from the Thai actor fluke whose family is in the Fisheries business.
My GFs name is Varaporn, her daughters nickname is Poy and my GF calls me tee ruk!
Any offers on meanings?
Sawatdee ka Colin, “ที่รัก tee rak” means “sweetheart, dear”. 🙂
I am married to a Thai lady and her daughter has difficulties with my name because it has two r’s in it, Richard. She noticed that in my passport, I have a middle name of ‘Alec’ so now I am known as “loong Alec.” Uncle Alec as calling me phaw wouldn’t be correct. I adore the respect that is shown.
Uncle Alec sounds lovely. 🙂
Can you tell me if Oi or Aui is a male or a female nickname.
Thank uou
It is a female nickname. 🙂
could someone use “ploy” as real name?
not nickname?
ex: ploy sornarin
it’s her real name or just a nickname?
Ploy is usually a nickname but some people might use it as a real name too. From your example it looks like “sornarin” is her real name and Ploy is the nickname.
Sawatdii khrub Khun mod na, i am a new student taking up Masters Degree in Thammasat University in Bangkok. And sure very thai i have met have their nick names. One of my thai seatmate like to call me “Artith”, and she’s always sayin’ that it suits me well. What does it mean then? Btw, Learning your language is both very challenging and fulfilling. Khob khun na khrub!
Sawatdii ka Khun Sunner, you are my university’s junior. 🙂
Artith in Thai is spelled “อาทิตย์ /aa-tít/” means “the sun” and also means “Sunday”. It is a nice name, my nephew is also named Artith.
Hi, Could someone please tell me what is the meaning of the names “Ling” and “Tia” in Lao?
Hi. how about KungKung? What does it mean? thanks
I am sorry I don’t know what the word mean without seeing it written in Thai. It doesn’t sound like a Thai word. Many parents nowadays like to name their children with a foreign word.
I know many girls called กุ้ง Kung (shrimp).
Hi! I have a workmate who keeps calling me “susi/suzy” and i dont know what it means. She is thai. Can you give the meaning of it? Thank ypu very much!
I am sorry I don’t know either.
Hello Ms Mod. The question of a name has brought me to you.– โดนัท ? Origin/Reason ?
Also I think the translation is Donut. In Scottish and English lands they would use it to call someone stupid.
And I really hope this isn’t the case. This person is in their 30s… but the name is Donut or Donnat.
Donut for sure. I know quite many thai people using that nickname.
Hello! What does “Fluke” mean as a nickname for a Thai male?? Is that just another English word that people thought sounded cool, like Bank?
Yes, “Fluke” is English word. I don’t know why people use it as a Thai nickname just like “Bank”. 🙂
Your question was answered by someone else above
Can you give me a nickname or maybe full name? My name is Micky.
Micky is already a good name and some Thai people also has this name as a nickname. There is no need to change but if you would like to have a Thai name I suggest that you could ask someone you know in Thailand who knows you well and they can give you a name with a good meaning that suits your personality. 🙂
What does the nickname ” Katoon ” mean for a girl ? Not sure how it’s spelled so I spelled it like it sounds to my American ears.
“การ์ตูน /gaa-dtuun/ is the English word “cartoon”, but we use it with Thai pronunciation. Some people think it sounds cute so they use it as a nickname. There are many more English words that are used as nickname for Thai people such as “donut”, “cookie”, “guitar” etc.
I asked. The suggested Moo :p
We named our Korat cat Fah Si Baht as a play on wordso sound like fuzzy butt and blue colored expensive cat..his little brother was named Sri Stang meaning cheap change or cheaper than an expensive blue cat.
Then we called him Tong Tong.
Now Fah Si Baht has passed and we re getting a kitten and are thinking of a name…husband likes Si ya bhat hehehe any sugestions?
What about ‘Porn’? What does this mean in Thai?
The name Porn or as it is written “พร /pawn/” in Thai means ‘blessing’. It is a common girl name in Thailand.
Sawat dee kha mod,
What the meaning of manao? I moved to Hat Yai and my friend gave that name. Hope that is a positive thing 🙂
มะนาว /má-naao/ means ‘lime’. It is also used as a nickname for girls. It sounds cute. 🙂
Hello! Could you please tell me the meaning of my thai name ‘areeya’ or ‘aria’ and my nickname ‘bock’ or ‘pock’? thank you very much!
Hello! Im born in Thailand and my parents are Thai but we moved to Sweden so I can’t read Thai. I have always wonder what my name means.
Hathaiphat is my formal name and Nook is my nick name.
My mother remarried and give birth to a boy and she named him
Hathaitat
Hathai หทัย means ‘heart’ and หทัยภัทร means ‘kind heart’. What a beautiful name! 🙂
Hi Mod,
My thai nickname is เอ็ด, may i know what it means?
Thank you!
Sawatdii ka Adrain, thank เอ็ด on its own has no meaning. Some Thai nicknames don’t have a meaning, they are just a short version of the full name.
so basically your Mod name means what?
It means ‘ant’. 🙂
Oooo so cute 😄
Hi Mod! So I have something I have wanted to know since forever basically, so my mom is adopted from Thailand and there she was apparently given the name “Saaisamoon” now I wonder if that really is a name and what it means also how to pronounce it because I just pronounce it as it’s spelled. 🙂
Sawatdii ka, I am afraid I can’t tell the correct meaning and the pronunciation of your mom’s name without seeing it written in Thai.
“Saisamorn” or “Saisamon”
Write in Thai as : สายสมร
you can look up for this word
pronounce : sai-sa-morn
it means a beloved woman
Hai mod, im not a thai, im from the northern parts of malaysia but my parents give nickname yod. What does it mean?
Hi Yod, I am afraid I can’t tell the right meaning of your nickname without seeing the Thai spelling. There are two possibilities; it could be ยศ which means ‘ prestige’ or ยอด which means ‘the best.’ Both names are very positive. 🙂
hi Mod’ my first name is thai, would you suggest a nick for me? i’m male born in january. kop kun maak 🙂
Sawatdii ka Thai. Your first name is already short so you can use it as a nickname as well. Usually Thai people’s first names are a few syllable long, so a shorter name is given as a nickname. 🙂
I have a dear Thai friend, her name is La. Her father said hopefully when she was born, this will be mij LAst daughter.
La has a doughter named Stamp, because she was born on World stamp day.
I talked to a nice Thai lady in the airplane. She told me about her daughter named Yá.
I asked her Yá meaning pill??? Yes she answerd, mij beautifull daughter Yá was born because I forget to take pill.
Some friends gave me the Thai nick name Chang Nam. I am a serious big man. When they saw me jump in a little swimmingpool first time, and everybody got wet, then they knew my name……..
Thank you for sharing your interesting story. Your Thai nick name is cute. 🙂
Hi, Mod!
My name is Dulce, pronounced: Dawn-say. Which means “sweet” in Latin.
Which Thai name/nickname do you think is better for me? Daw or Dao?
If neither are ok, what do you think I should use as a nickname?
Sawatdii ka Dulce,
‘Dao’ sounds lovely in Thai but ‘daw’ is not, so I wuld go for ‘Dao’ which means stars in Thai. 🙂
Thank you, Mod. Sounds lovely!
My pleasure. Thank you for your comment. 🙂
Meaning of name natty or nattapon
I am a little surprised that Noi and Lek are not in the top ten.. but maybe they are from an older generation.
Great article.
today thais tend to nickname their new born babies with the most ancient thai words as most as possible as thais think that’s the most modern way of life
The superrich thais nickname thieir new born babies with the ancient simple thai words e.g. nam khao (rice water)
My newphew named his new born baby with the most ancient thai word i.e Mintra, and the official name for the baby is apichaya to be cute.
Hello Mod
Many thanks for this very interesting blog.
We met a wonderful Thai girl during our first visit to Thailand. Her nickname was Pem (phonetic) Do you know the right spelling and meaning as we would like to use the nickname for our kitten provided it is not irrespectful… Many thanks
Hi Carla,
First of all, apologies for the delay in my response.
Accordingly to your phonetic spelling in writing, it is difficult to tell what is the exact name. However, the name “เพ็ญ Pen” is a common name for Thai girls, it means ‘the moon’. It could be เปรม bprem which means ‘joyful’.
Hello Khun Mod,
It’s interesting that only 3 out of 10 popular Thai nicknames are Thai. The grass is usually greener on the other side of the fence, isn’t it? 🙂
I also have a question about your nickname. Why did you get this cute nickname “Mod”?
Sawatdee ka, thank you for reading my post and sorry for my late response. Thai Parents give nickname to their children, and my mom gave this nickname to me. 🙂
hey กวาง Kwang (deer) its gwaan, ก=g, ว= w, า=aa, ง=n
All is correct , only ง = ‘ng’. 🙂
Hi Mod
I brought my Thai wife and kids to the USA, but I don’t know the meaning of their names. Can you help?
Pornphan (Pun)
Thanakorn (Noom)
Nopphawan (Mod!!!)
Thank you.
Sawatdee ka Earle,
Apologies for the delay in my response.
Thai names are not common words that use in everyday life. We have to search in a specific dictionary and also have to know the exact spelling in Thai to get the exact meaning. If you can get their name in Thai language, I could help look them up for you. 🙂
I have a special affinity to Thailand and Thai people and I have been there twice on visits. As I have studied Samskrit, my favorite pastime is to decipher the Samskrit roots and meaning of Thai names. Much as I respect people choosing Western sounding nick names, I am afraid one is bound to lose their culture and language unless efforts are made to cultivate them. I have lived and worked in the US for over 30 years but I find people do learn names in alien languages and respect you for that.
Is there any way to submit an inquiry about nicknames privately (one that doesn’t get posted for the public to read)? I’m writing a book with a Thai character in it, and I don’t want all those details “out there” before I get it published. 😉
You can write email to me at adjima_t@hotmail.com 🙂
test (not sure if this site is still used)
It is still used and updated often. 🙂
Hi.What is the meaning of patty ?one of my friends is from Thailand and her name is patty I would like to know the meaning of her name
Patty is not a Thai word. It is becoming more common for Thai people to use English names for their nicknames.:)
that is not widely used.
Nice article. I always think that the nickname says so much about the parents, and what they do. Pugan is the kid of an artist. Bouquet from the florist. And guess what Khanom Jin’s parents sell for a living?
What I don’t understand is the names that parents can’t even pronounce, like Ice becoming Ai and Grace pronounced as Kate?
Some parents think it sounds cool to have English name. 🙂
today that’s obsolete.
to be modern for today, thais nickname their new born babies with ancient thai words i.e nam khao (rice water) which is the nickname of the new baby of the superrich thai married to a thai superstar.
This morning i met a Thai student who told me her name was Mo (falling tone \) = Pearl. Could she expect to be called Pearl as much as Mo or only Mo? She also said that there are 5 tones in Thai: / \ – v so i am wondering what the fifth is: circumflex (in lieu of the key on my English keyboard or some other)? Fascinating topic for someone interested in names and languages like me or for most people.
Pearl in Thai is มุก /múk/ it is ‘high tone’ 🙂
The fifth tone if “falling tone” for example, the word ‘home’ is บ้าน /bâan/. The tone mark looks like a cap. 🙂
I have a video lesson talking about “5 Thai tones”, please follow this link to learn more about it–> https://learnthaiwithmod.com/2013/10/learn-thai-different-tone-different-meaning/
My best friend’s name is Ice, like on the list! I remember, during the first days after we met, I was so confuse with nicknames and real names. I didn’t understand why her nickname is Ice but her real name doesn’t sound like that at all and is very long. She explained me that every Thai person has a nickname given by their parents.
Do a lot of people (foreigners, maybe) ask monks to give them nicknames? I’d love for a monk to name me! I’m an English major as of now and becoming an English teacher in Thailand serves as my motivation to finish!
I think most foreign people ask their friends to give them Thai nicknames. Asking a monk is good too, hope you enjoy the new nickname. 🙂
(Y) 🙂
Hi my Thai girl friends name is Anishjira and I want to call her with a cute lovely nickname that she will fall in love with me more. I love her so sooo much. Any help? Thank you in advance!!
Every Thai has a nickname which their perents gave to them the same time as they named their baby. You should ask her what it is. 🙂
i’m looking for a thai nickname for myself. i like em (เอ็ม). is it ok for a male?
Yes, that’s a common name for a male. 🙂
ผมชื่อสเตฟานนะครับ แล้วส่วนมากคนไทยเรียกผมว่า “ฟาน” เป็นชื่อเล่น
I heard the story that newborn babies are given a nickname at birth to prevent the evil spirits from knowing the child’s real name and identity, thus protecting the child from harm.It maybe folklore but I like this explanation!
I have heard something like this too: that you might not tell a mother her baby is cute, but rather ugly, in order that the evil ผี [pǐi] (ghosts) won’t notice. I think it is definitely in the realm of folklore, though!
Hi. I recently met someone who introduced herself as what sounded like “A.” Any ideas as to what name that is? -Thanks
Sawatdee ka Bill, Thai people also use English for nicknames. “A” is a common nickname for both Thai men and women. 🙂
I got a thai name from my friends, That name is Yod, but they try explain it to me. But very hard to understand the word meaning. Can you explain for me? Khop khun krub
I am not sure how you pronounce or spell your Thai nickname in Thai. Yod could be ยอด meaning “the summit, the highest point” or ยศ means “prestige”. It is a nice name:)
An outstanding share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a colleague who has been conducting a little homework on this. And he in fact bought me dinner due to the fact that I discovered it for him… lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanks for spending time to discuss this topic here on your website.
Thank you for your kind comment. I am glad to hear it is useful 🙂
my Thai girlfriend name is Nan^^.. i want a nickname too but she likes my name already:/
er … ปู is pronounced poo??><
ปู is pronounced slightly different than “poo”. When pronouncing the consonant ป, it has no air comes out from your mouth like ‘p’. It is similar to the ‘p’ sound in the words ‘sport’ or ‘spa’ in English. : )
เก่งมากเลยคุณมด!
That was by far the best explaination of ป I have ever read.
ขอบคุณมากค่ะคุณคริส Thank you for your kind words. 🙂
This post is a good idea. Nicknames often confuse beginners because they hear the word and can’t place it.
What about yours mod noi? Don’t want everyone to know you are an ant?? 🙂
Thank you for this post Kru Mod. I’ve been watching a lot of Lakorn Thai recently to practice my listening and vocabulary, too.
Chue-lens are really cute part of being thai. In our country too, we’re very fond of nicknames. Mine is “Tinay” which in thai is “Where?” 5555.. Anyway, when I come to Thailand (hopefully, next year) I’d like to introduce myself to Kon-Thais as “Arj”… Can you help me by writting this in Thai-script Kru Mod? It would really mean the word to me.
Khop khun maak jing jing naa 🙂
Hoping to hear from you Kru.
Rak maak,
Arj
i have too many nicknames but no one is in the top10 🙁
my nicknames are : ai auannn, bak auannn, kheeeee mo, pak dee, kuan teen, chooooo chok… & more again 😀
I have a friends whose nickname is Panadol & Envelope isn’t weird ?
My name is Lee so it never gets shortened when I visit Thailand but I met another Lee last time I was there, so I became Lee Neung and she became Lee Song, just to save people getting confused and for fun. I have a friend whose wife is called Nam from the top ten list. I have a friend whose chuue len seems to change all the time, she introduced herself as Pern when I first met her but all her friends call her Phoey, and on facebook she called herself Sonas but she has changed it to her formal name now, yes I am confused! She is a good friend so what’s in a name. Does anyone know the meaning of ‘Pern’, ‘Sonas’ and ‘Phoey’ are in Thai?
The thai exchange student that will stay in my house, and that I consider as a sister to me, is Fah!
And my hostsister that I will meet in Aug is May! LOL
Your videos help me a lot and I miss them :(, I hope you can fix the problem ^^
Thanks for everything!
-Ana
I notice that when you say ชื่อเล่น, you really need to be careful and use the falling tone while saying เล่น, otherwise thai people will think “len” is part of your name! – It happened to me more than once 😀
That could happen indeed. I have never thought of that before. Thank you for sharing:)
I had “Oom” and “Pako” in my math classes. Next year, “Moom”.
My Girlfriend’s nephew has the nickname Mooping I know its something to do with a pig but I’m not sure what,He is only happy when he is eating and that is all the time 55 🙂
His name is หมูปิ้ง; Moo (หมู) means ‘pork’, bping (ป้ิง) means ‘grill’ ; it means “grilled pork”. He sounds yummy 555
My wife, who is a Thai around kru Mod’s age, is nicknamed Ice, although that was a nickname she picked up from her aunt after she moved to the U.S. Her original chue len was Baby.
Why thai parrents are giving nicknames at all? Why not just call your son/daughter by their real name?
Because the real Thai names usually have at least two or three syllables, and sounds formal. Real names are used outside your personal life i.e. the teachers address students at school, when going to the hospital. Somewhat the real Thai names are used like family names are used in some Western cultures.
yes that’s what they called me in los I think its ok
My Thai nickname is Pla. I was given that because Simon, my English name sounds like Salmon to Thai people. A friend ( also called Simon) who smokes was nicknamed Smoked.
I know a girl who was names Sai ( Sand) by her father. She didn’t like that as it is beneath the feet so she changed her nickname to Mind.
my nickname is ling noi 🙂
Very Nice post Kruu Mod,
I will add:
Mam=for Thai women
Lek= for Thai woman
Seuaa=Tiger
Singtho, Singha, Singdtho =Lion
Singtho is my Thai nickname LOL
It’s funny how in English Raccoon would translate in Thai to “Love You”. I love languages. So interesting
Rak Khun .. Love You … pronounced almost as as Raccoon; so it’s not a translation … 555 (hahaha … 5 is pronounced as ha, ergo 555 means hahaha). I guess you can see the trend.
my girlfriends parents nick named their kids with names of cars..
bmw, mercadies benz, jaguar… i think she said it was whatever car her father was driving when they were born..
Those are pretty cool names;)
Hmmmm… Here it goes! Ame Aum Bow Bowza Bowy Micky Cookie Donut Gift Fresh Patty Natty Nong Pepsi Diamond Candy Dar Golf Niu and Somchai(name for male character in Western novels 555)
My favorite nickname using a Thai word is ‘Tangkwah’ which means ‘cucumber’. Tangkwaa just sounds so cool!!! And we do use the English phase ‘cool as a cucumber’.
I’m from Malaysia and I have a few Thai acquaintances that I met through my line of work, but I don’t know any of them well enough to be on a nickname basis with them. I refer to them as ‘Khun [first name]’. But my cousin, who is a girl, was given the nickname ‘Porntheep’ by a Thai Buddhist monk when she was a child. Does the name Porntheep mean anything?
“Porntheep” means divine blessing. Pretty, eh?
I would love the nickname Bank. That rocks. If I wasn’t almost 50 years old I would give myself that nickname now.
ํYou still can have that nickname now:)
Most of my friend’s name are on the top list. =)
yes i know a few Ploys and Balls, May and a New and a Fah. some weird ones i have come across is Plai, Pang, Milk, Proud, Big (he is short though), Gate, Art, Yo. i would be able to come up with many more if i thought about it harder.
ผมรู้จักผู้ชาย ๑ คนชื่อว่า ข้าวเหนียว (ชื่อจริง “Cornell”) ครับ 🙂
ชื่อน่ารักดีนะคะ แล้วคุณคีธไม่อยากมีชื่อเล่นภาษาไทยบ้างเหรอคะ 🙂
ตอนนี้ผมไม่สามารถคิดชื่อเล่นอะไรบ้างที่ผมอาจจะชอบได้ครับ อย่างหน่อย คีธ เป็นคำที่มีแค่ 1 พยางค์ แล้วก็ไม่หมายความว่าอะไรที่ไม่สุภาพครับ (หวังว่าข้อนี้เป็นข้อจริงครับ) 555
คุณคีธใช้ชื่อเดิมก็ดีแล้วค่ะ ^_^
Some of the children in my kids’ informal learning classes have names like: Proud (girl), Grand, Focus, Frame and Thankyou 😀 there are other names but right now these are what I remember