The Culture of Naming
Hello, My Name is Cotton Candy
Really, it is. As a Thai person, I get to have distinctive names due to our naming culture. And being named Cotton Candy in Thai doesn’t sound as strange as it would be in English. Oh, I know what you’re thinking. Cotton Candy does sound like a stripper’s name.
But in Thailand, it isn’t. Our naming culture requires only two names: first name and surname. Due to lengthy first names, however, our parents usually give us nicknames, sometimes a shortened version of our first names. Just like Elizabeth and Liz. Most of the time though, they just pick anything they want – and I really mean anything. If you have a chance to meet other Thais besides me, ask them what their nicknames are. You might get answers like “Nice,” “Great” and “Best.” And if you’re lucky, you’ll get to meet “Piano,” “Guitar” and “Egg.” No kidding. Random English words are trendy nicknames in Thailand.
Naming Ceremony in Ghana Credit: www.joniofferman.com
But names reflect something deeper than coolness. Different cultures name their kids different ways. In the U.S., many names are biblical such as Daniel, Benjamin and Elizabeth. In Tibet, people do not have surnames. Due to the strong influence of Buddhism, many Tibetan names come from Buddhist scriptures, including words that have positive meaning such as happiness and luck. In Ghana, babies aren’t given names until they are at least eight days old. That’s because babies usually did not live pass their eighth day when infant mortality rates were high. During those eight days they were considered an ancestral stranger coming for a visit. For American Indians, names symbolize peaceful natural elements such as “Forest Water,” “Falling Rain” and “No War.”
In Thailand, babies are named according to the days of the week they were born. And there are rules establishing lucky and jinxed names. (Oneditorial talks about the importance of Thai first names on her blog.) You see, names say a lot of things; they can tell you about a person’s cultural heritage. So, if your Thai name is Snow Cone, shout out, and we can have a fun Thai carnival.
Or just get your name in Thai and see how cool that looks.
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i’m thinking what “snow cone” is in thai.
I’m thinking of it in terms of น้ำแข็งไส I guess. What do you think?
I’m super bummed! I tried to get my Thai name (cool link by the way), and it said there was no name found. I was really excited to see what it would come up with, but oh well. Anyway, question for you. Does your name really mean cotton candy, or is that just your nickname. Also, if cotton candy is your nickname, where did Sam come from? How did people start calling you Sam?
@ Emily. Hehe, I’m sorry. You can try again though. I think you have to type your first name and last name two separate times. I tried that and it worked. For your questions regarding my name, you can go to the Look, it’s Sam. I’ve clarified it there.
My nickname when i was little was “Bright Eyes.” Just like an Indian name. Other than that, I’ve never really had a nickname. My parents specifically chose “Sarah” because it can’t be shortened into anything. Although a lot of people like to make fun of my last name. Heard the song “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…”? Yeah, I get a lot of teasing for that one.
I personally have never heard of that one, but I did realize how tricky your lastname can be when writing about you ^_^ Why did you parents called you “Bright Eyes” when you were little? Was there any meaning behind it?