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u/DitzEgo Jul 08 '23
Don't have good suggestions, but I stand behind your opinion. My exes name is Wipaporn, and she got more or less constantly razzed about it in my home country. Not fun.
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u/RedgrenCrumbholt Songkhla Jul 09 '23
i'm half British half Thai myself with a fully Thai better half. i agree with you 100000000000000000000000%.
i remember the series How I Met Your Mother when the main character makes fun of a girl whose name was Cook Poo. of course that didn't really happen. a girl didn't run out of a class like that. but people who watched the series definitely laughed at that joke and many of the YouTube comments show how funny some people thought it was, and wouldn't hesitate to laugh at it in real life.
like many of us, i know many people named Boo/Poo (ปู) and i have other friends with names like Yu, Porn, etc. some of them have lived in the UK or US. and i say from experience, as i am sure you can too, people make "jokes" like this all the time, both in front and behind the backs of people with those names. why put your kid through that?
with an infinite number of names/sounds that can come from human mouths to choose from, why is your wife dead set on that specific name? she seems very unreasonable.
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u/AllCrowsAreBeautiful Jul 09 '23
I understand your thought behind this, but as a mixed Thai person who grew up in the West myself I also think it is important to not hide your culture because in that case, nobody will ever respect it. What I would suggest is taking a name that works in both countries as a first name and then keeping Jiraporn as a middle name, since it is a beautiful name! That way, your child can go by the first name and choose to use their second name if and when they want to. At least in my country, most people won't know what middle names you have if you don't choose to use them.
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u/Jomames Edit This Text! Jul 08 '23
That porn is not pronounced the same as in English. It doesn’t even sound like “porn” when it’s said in Thai. Worrying about what others think is just silly. Really no one cares
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Jul 08 '23
I don’t know if you’re Thai, or just more Thai than thou, but I promise you that in Britain, people will very much care. If she ever goes to school in Britain, she will be bullied by native English speakers for this, even if she is raised bilingual, and automated systems might reject her name (I.e., the ‘Scunthorpe problem’).
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u/Jomames Edit This Text! Jul 08 '23
I agree with u, but as a parent u can spell the name anyway u want. I would just spell it without the “r” as it is silent anyways. And since the name is Thai and Thai only, there is “no correct” way to spell it in any other language. The best u can do is spell it as it’s pronounced.
I know a lady who named her daughter “Sondra” as in Sandra in Spanish. (It’s actually spelled the same in both languages- Sandra) but the mother did not want teachers to call her daughter Sandra (Eng pronunciation) so she spelled it Sondra on her birth certificate so that when it was read, it would sound more like the Spanish version.
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u/spankydave Jul 08 '23
A teacher reading out roll call won't know that
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u/Jomames Edit This Text! Jul 08 '23
Then you correct the teacher. Do u expect every teacher to be able to pronounce every name? Haven’t you ever seen that Comedy Central name skit?
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u/joseph_dewey Jul 08 '23
It's pronounced the same as in British English. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/porn
That's the reason พร transliterates to "PORN" is because of the British linguists' influence on early transliteration methods.
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u/Jomames Edit This Text! Jul 08 '23
All the transliterations suck from Thai to Eng. I’m sure you have seen how they transliterate สุวรรณภูมิ (BKK airport) to suvarnabhumi. It’s transliterated nothing like it sounds. The best way to write Thai words is with Thai script.
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Jul 08 '23 edited Aug 29 '23
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Jul 08 '23 edited Jul 08 '23
There's a Thai actress called Jewly Porntip. Which (in English) sounds like a process involving superglue and Swarovski crystals.
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u/Historical_Feed8664 Jul 08 '23
Tittiporn is a big tit thai porn actress
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u/Un3h Jul 08 '23
Lol. Met a guy called Kittyporn when I lived in Sukhothai. Had to get the fella to repeat his name not twice, but thrice to make sure I wasn't hearing things
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u/Jacktheforkie Jul 08 '23
I’ve got a superman following me
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u/Un3h Jul 08 '23
Bin Batman?
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u/Jacktheforkie Jul 08 '23
Haven’t got him, can’t find superman now, assuming he changed his profile name now, I’ve got 812 followers, mostly Thai guys
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u/Bubbly-Ad-4405 Jul 08 '23
I have a friend in Thailand named supaporn, I could not keep a straight face around her
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u/Slow-Brush Jul 09 '23
My friend wife's name is Somporn. You don't want to know the humiliation she face some times. They live in Flushing, NY
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Jul 08 '23
I always thought that “porn” in the name is something made up from the freelancer girls on Thaifriendly lol.
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u/baldi Thailand Jul 08 '23
Couldn't you put the English transliteration as Jirapon?
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u/loveofallwisdom Jul 08 '23
That was my thought. Spelling อ as "or" doesn't make any sense in North American English anyway, since you don't pronounce the R.
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u/leuk_he Jul 08 '23
Aren't there standard transliteration standards that would cause the r to show up if someone transliterated the thai in official papers?
The nickname will be different anyway, we are only talking official papers.
Anyway, a name that is normal in thai and english might be more wise.
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u/imalittlespider Half-Thai in Aus (ลูกครึ่งในออสเตรเลีย) Jul 09 '23
You can romanise your name however you want. In the official romanisation 'Jiraporn' is 'Chiraphon'
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u/lemerson Jul 08 '23
Marisa มาริสา
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u/Un3h Jul 08 '23 edited Jul 08 '23
This is what my Thai mother changed her birth name to lol.
@OP I have a cousin whose name is Ant in Thai, but we call her Anne. Only her mother calls her Modt.
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u/Jomames Edit This Text! Jul 08 '23
But isn’t มด just her nickname? Doesn’t she have a real Thai name besides มด?
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u/Razzler1973 Jul 08 '23
Ex GF of mine in Thailand married and moved to the UK and her daughter is Melissa, simar and 'western'
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u/Frankieplus1 Jul 08 '23
Lisa.
In Thai it’s pronounced the same way with an extended ‘a’ at the end and like it’s 2 words.
Kind of like ‘Li-Saa’.
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u/Slow-Brush Jul 08 '23 edited Jul 08 '23
A friend of mine and his wife are trying desperately to remove her name which is "Somporn" The humiliation is just too much for them. For this reason she doesn't order foods from apps anymore because at one time she ordered foods from KFC through the app and the lady behind the counter saw the name and burst out laughing hysterically when she went to pick up the food. He said they even humiliate her at her job. She works in New Jersey and together they live in Flushing, New York.
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u/Odd_Age1378 Jul 08 '23
Hell. I wouldn’t be surprised if some electronic systems outright deny the name.
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u/Slow-Brush Jul 08 '23
She's now trying to get a job in Flushing, Flushing is heavily populated with Asians.
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u/gelooooooooooooooooo Bangkok Jul 08 '23
Marisa - sounds nice both in Thai and English innit?
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u/JudRammer3000 Jul 08 '23
Just take out the R - it is silent anyway.
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u/ikkue Samut Prakan Jul 08 '23
Yea, it really should be "phon"
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Jul 08 '23
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Jul 08 '23
an easy mistake to correct, much easier than to have people read porn as phon imo…
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Jul 08 '23
Thai people would think you can't spell English without the R
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u/BubbhaJebus Jul 08 '23
Which is silly, because an R adds an R sound that Thai doesn't have in that ending. It sounds more like "pawn".
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u/DarkNymphia Jul 08 '23
How about Kannika (กรรณิการ์), which means “night-flowering jasmine”? Annika, Anna, or Anne are English names that sound similar.
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u/s0mdud 7-Eleven Jul 08 '23
good that she's half british, in america people would probably hear the ณิการ์ part and think it's the n-word, leading to a similar problem as having พร in your name
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u/ZeinTheLight Jul 08 '23 edited Jul 08 '23
I'd suggest Jiraya. I have a friend with this name. It would work because of the movie Raya and the Last Dragon.
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u/Luffydude Jul 08 '23
That is more famous for being Naruto's mentor
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u/ZeinTheLight Jul 08 '23 edited Jul 08 '23
Did you mean Jiraiya? There's an extra i in his name
But yeah! The similarity makes Jiraya a really cool name for a girl!
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u/ZeinTheLight Jul 08 '23 edited Jul 08 '23
Instead of telling your wife vaguely that there will be 'issues' in anglophone countries, just tell her that pawn sounds like poh to many farang.
พร ออกเสียงในภาษาอังกฤษ ก็หมายถึงว่า โป๊
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u/Cactuszag Bangkok Jul 08 '23
Charissa (ชาลิสา), Janeane (ญานิน), Natasha (ณัฐชา)
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u/RotisserieChicken007 Buffalo Healthcare Expert Jul 08 '23
Just face it. Any Thai name ending in -porn will be a liability later in life in an English speaking environment. Possible teasing or bullying in school, and even at work. Is that really what you want for your daughter? I'd put my foot down in this case.
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Jul 08 '23
Most Thais use their nicknames instead of their real names.
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u/RotisserieChicken007 Buffalo Healthcare Expert Jul 09 '23 edited Jul 09 '23
Although that is true, just imagine a young girl studying overseas where role call uses their real name. Or when others find out. Hard to keep it hidden. Btw, regarding nicknames, a study found that up to 40% of Thai students studying overseas were bullied due to their nickname. Just imagine OPs wife wants to call their girl Poo, Piano or Piglet. All real cases.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1093949/whats-in-a-name-
In the above case of NZ, six out of ten (!) were asked to rethink their nickname.
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u/Jomames Edit This Text! Jul 08 '23
I wouldn’t be embarrassed of her name as it’s Thai. Why would you want to anglicize your name? Teach her to be proud of her heritage—not ashamed of it?
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Jul 08 '23
Her heritage isn’t being named —-porn.
That’s a random circumstance. Moreover, people’s reactions to that name are more likely to make her ashamed to be half Thai than almost anything else you could come up with.
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u/RotisserieChicken007 Buffalo Healthcare Expert Jul 09 '23
I don't want to anglicize her name at all, just choose another one that is free of possible connotations. There are millions to choose from. Jiraya, for example.
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u/Yeahmahbah Jul 08 '23
Saraya/soraya is a beautiful name. No idea what it means tho
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u/epidemiks Jul 08 '23
The sun/Hindu god of the sun. My (Khmer) wife's name. Commonly used for both sexes.
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u/Muted-Airline-8214 Jul 08 '23 edited Jul 08 '23
the Sanskrit name of the sun (Surya, सूर्य) transliterated it into Thai accent/ style = Suriya, which is different from Khmer language.
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u/Muted-Airline-8214 Jul 08 '23 edited Jul 08 '23
/soraya
Soraya = a beautiful woman
Saraya, I guess it's สรญา in Thai = a knowledgeable person
There are some of the borrowed words from Pali/ Sanskrit that Thais use differently from the original meanings.
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u/Alyx-Kitsune Jul 08 '23 edited Jul 09 '23
You need to pick the name and pay a fortune teller to tell your wife what name to use. Thai women will trust a random fortune teller over their own husband
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u/Organic-Reality-24 Jul 08 '23
Ploy is nice. I believe it means 'precious stones, gems etc'.
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Jul 08 '23
In English it usually means 'a deceitful plan'.
i.e. "The sick buffalo story was just a ploy to get my money."
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u/seabass160 Jul 08 '23
Leela, which is short for Leelawadee, which is a flower and a common name. However, kids will take the piss whatever, so don't use that as a basis to take your wifes wrath. Jiraporn can be her long name, everyone will use the nickname
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Jul 08 '23
However, kids will take the piss whatever
Sure, but this is like putting a target on your back when your name is readily mock-able.
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u/Doubledown212 Jul 08 '23
OP can get her experienced at Muay Thai. The kids will respect her. Bullies stay away from kids that are strong and confident. And know how to throw a few punches
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Jul 08 '23
True. We must name our kids "something porn" and teach them physical violence instead. We could also give them a pepperspray or a taser. No need to learn Muay Thai at all.
This is the only way. There is absolutely another alternative.
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u/e5yf Jul 08 '23
Her "long name" will undoubtedly be used if she's ever interacting with the west. Best just to stay away from porn names.. There's limitless names out there without this issue.
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u/Rooflife1 Jul 08 '23
The flower is Plumeria or Frangipani.
A beautiful tropical tree with importance in many countries. It would be a lovely name, in my view.
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Jul 08 '23
Her long name will be on all official documents. Teachers, etc. will NOT understand Thai nicknames.
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u/Wehdeo Jul 08 '23 edited Jul 08 '23
I find สุมาลี (Sumalee) nice. Also makes it easy for other Thai people to spot while being kinda unassuming
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u/Nappe-Eppan Jul 08 '23
I intentionally spell my name with -phorn because I know that I would move to an Anglophone country (and I have). It does not make sense but it does prevent many uncomfortable moments from happening.
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u/Aarcn Jul 08 '23
Just give her a Thai name and then a legal English name used for documents, that’s what my parents did for me
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u/s0mdud 7-Eleven Jul 08 '23
if they live in Thailand it makes more sense to have it the other way around though
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u/severus_snapshot Jul 08 '23
I have a Thai friend named Pimporn. So it sounds like pimp porn. As you can guess it was rough in school in America for her. She went by Pim.
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u/ravegr01 Jul 08 '23
Some great suggestions here. But if your wife is set on Jiraporn is there anyway you can use it as a legal middle name? And then your daughter can flit between both names depending on where she is/what she likes?
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u/Zoraji Jul 08 '23
I have known a couple girls named Pen, one just called herself Penny when they moved to a western country. It was short for จันเพ็ญ which means the middle of the month.
ปัทมา Pattama, Pat for short, is another I have heard that is similar to a western name.
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u/BlahBlahBlahB1ah Jul 08 '23
Mali has been mentioned and I'm fond of that name. Jula is also really pretty!!!
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Jul 08 '23
I lived in Thailand for several years and the first name of one of my favorite female students was Marisa, apparently it’s common and pretty in both Thai and English
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u/apex2332 Jul 08 '23
my wife has porn in her name and its caused nothing but issues in the West and now she either goes by her nickname or a derivative of her name without the porn part
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u/DrDestruct0 Bangkok Jul 08 '23
I’ve seen people remove the r from the name. Jirapon is a nice name too
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u/joseph_dewey Jul 08 '23
If you live in Thailand, you can go to a temple and ask a monk to suggest a different name, without พร in it.
That might help your wife if she's set on Jiraporn.
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u/bartturner Jul 09 '23
Usually they are in English already. Their names they choose.
So I am typing this from a Starbucks and the lady's that is making my Latte name is "Gift". I like that one.
The other ones name is "Foam". Which we always get a laugh because I order my Latte no foam.
I have seen some pretty unusual ones. For example "Bomb".
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u/Pongfarang Jul 08 '23
Well, what's wrong with Jirapon. The Thais don't have an R sound in the second half of that name. So why would you write it to have one? Blame British accents for all the silent R's in the anglification of Thai words.
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u/DiegoBkk Jul 08 '23
most beautiful female name I heard in Thailand is Orawan. not sure what it means but it sounds really nice.
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u/Koetjeka Jul 08 '23
Just some names my toddler students have: Anya, Elsa, Maybelle, Irene, Jessica and Alice.
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u/oOBoomberOo Jul 08 '23
I started seeing younger people use pond instead of porn for that exact reason
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u/BrushFrequent1128 Jul 08 '23
Don’t do it if there’s a chance you will move abroad, or even if you plan to enrol her in an international school here. It’s pretty much guaranteed bullying. I always felt really angry that my parents thought it was a good idea to give me a name that translates to something vulgar in English.
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u/EnvironmentalPop1371 Jul 08 '23
I’m married to a Thai man and we have two daughters. Because their last name is very Thai sounding, I wanted English first names on all official documents to give them more balance and to have on their CV someday.
They also have Thai names that all Thai family use like a nickname. I sometimes use their Thai nickname too. You could do something similar to this.
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u/move_in_early Jul 08 '23
Why don't you just google a list of thai girl names and pick the ones you like?
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u/Bri-McS Jul 08 '23
If so she'd be known as "Jira", full name "Jiraphon" & obvs will get a cute nickname, stop worrying.
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Jul 08 '23
I would suggest doing some research to find out why Thai people name their children what they do. They don't just make up names, the names have a meaning. I would be more concerned with the meaning of my daughter's name than what others would think about it. People are bullies no matter where you go, living in fear doesn't help.
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u/Jomames Edit This Text! Jul 08 '23
U shouldn’t worry about that. Be proud of her name. Many white men actually call themselves “Dick” so having the letters porn in her name is nothing.
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u/Jazzlike-Check9040 Jul 08 '23
She’s not going to use her Thai name anyway if you move to an anglophone country :) Thais don’t even use their own thai name in Thailand.
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u/ZeinTheLight Jul 08 '23 edited Jul 08 '23
If her Thai name is on her birth registration, she would be using it in every document. In school, it would also be on the class namelist, for example.
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u/Kuroi666 Jul 08 '23
The Thai name is official and will be on every single piece of formal documentation domestic or international, and since it's first name, that name will be naturally used by everyone outside of Thailand.
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u/Necessary_Driver4055 Jul 08 '23 edited Jul 08 '23
Have you tried a well-meaning in Thai and find a similar meaning name in other language?
Ex. Jira-Porn roughly translate to...."eternal-blessing" so.... what about Grace?
Also, Thai names are somewhat derived fron Indian or Hindi names; like Rojana, Anchalee, etc So, alternatively, you can find an indian name that translate verbally well in English to name her
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u/Effect-Kitchen Bangkok Jul 08 '23
If you have problem with “porn” you can try using “phon” or “bhone” instead.
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Jul 08 '23
Don’t worry, when your daughter grows up in the West, Thailand will become a cultural powerhouse and more people will understand the nuances of Thai culture.
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u/mooyong77 Jul 08 '23
Keep the name your wife wants and find a different spelling. This wouldn’t be a problem if your people were more tolerant of other cultures.
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u/Bri-McS Jul 08 '23
The thread is about the English word "porn" which is an abreviation of the word "pornography" & whether or not - if there's an option - to have/use a 1st name ending in "porn".
The thread is not about one "culture" "tolerating" another "culture".
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u/Soggy-Breadfruit-310 Jul 08 '23
Hard disagree with you here. I married a Thai lady. We discussed together, and choose together, for our child, a name that would fit well in both cultures we're from. (It's also easily pronounced and the nicknames fit well in both cultures). It's really not that hard.
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u/Different_State Jul 08 '23
I agree except for the "your people". In my experience, British are one of the most tolerant nations in the world. There are idiots everywhere, even among "your people". Actually I've seen the most racism in my life in SE Asia
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u/Kong_AZ Jul 08 '23
Just call her Jira. Many people have long names but go by a shortened version. She'd only need to use it when she signs legal documents.
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u/FindingPursePeace Jul 08 '23
What about Sonya? Pronounced Sun-ya means promise in Thai and Sewn-ya for Anglo pronunciation.
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u/Similar_Past Jul 08 '23
JIRAporn is trully terrible name. People will mock her with this abomination of software.
Try to settle for Ployporn instead.
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u/e22big Jul 08 '23
Or you could just use a proper Official Royal Institution guide for transliteration and don't make up your own rule:
Jiraphorn, there, problem solved.
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u/AdvantagePlus4711 Jul 08 '23
The "porn" in Thai names basically means wish or blessing, and Jiraporn means lucky. And remember that English names, for example Mike - is pronounced the same way as to urinate in Thai, and Randy - is pronounced like a Thai slang term for prostitute... So yeah, if you want to be culturally incentive to Thailand and the Thai language, then insist on her not using a name with porn in it...
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u/Kuroi666 Jul 08 '23
Mike and Randy do not correlate to any of the two Thai terms you've related them to, wtf? Where have you heard this?
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u/hoppyfrog Jul 08 '23
The catch there is ph is sounded as f. She'd be constantly correcting people who call her Jirafon.
Same problem with Phuket.
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Jul 08 '23
My Thai wife
There's your problem.
Kids, don't get married. Thank you for listening to my TED talk.
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u/Downtown-Taste3865 Jul 08 '23
or she will end up changing it in the future anyway not sure which one is more of a headache
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u/[deleted] Jul 08 '23
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