Cheu Leh

Lately it’s been a lot of stress surrounding work and my visa that allows me to stay in the country, so there hasn’t been a lot of downtime to think about the blog. Luckily the NYT keeps Thailand in the news often enough that I no longer have to think of my own topics.

This week: Cheu Leh *

All Thai people that I have met have a cheu leh (nickname). I think this is because in general their names come from Sanskrit and are quite long- 4 or 5 syllables. The nicknames are usually playful and given at birth, although sometimes changed to reflect the physique or personality of their namesake. One of the managers I used to work with was named Goong (meaning shrimp- and she was pretty small) and another friend is named Pinn (a Thai harp-like instrument). However the trend, as the article points out, is to give babies English names.

As might be expected, sports names are quite common. I know of a recent newborn christened Soccer, even though here it is known as footbun (his father had spent a significant amount of time in the USA). Another one of my former students is named Putter. At first I thought it was because he liked to putter around, but then one day he drew a picture of a golf putter and pointed to himself.

Family themes also seem to be quite common. I know 2 sets of brothers named Sea and Sun. It was actually a problem when I had both Seas in the same class, but one preferred to be called Ocean. Another girl named Sax has 4 brothers and sisters; all named after musical instruments although none of them play their namesakes.

Regular English names also make appearances (Jennifer and Wendy) as do cartoon characters (Mickey and Minnie—both girls). One of my funniest students is named Yoyo, which makes for some pretty funny conversation—Is Yoyo coming to class today?

*Notice the shout out to KK about 2/3 of the way through the article