Do you think that some first names are really strange?

5jj said:

It's certainly used that way in BrE.

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It's also used that way in AmE.

My surname is pronounced like the word meaning extra-marital sex in Japanese.

Tdol said:

My surname is pronounced like the word meaning extra-marital sex in Japanese.

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Excuse me, may I remind you that your example is not related with the actual topic? Our current topic is about some of the first names that could hardly be accepted as regular human first names. However your example is about the matter in which the pronunciation of some words in any language that might have some vulgar meanings in other languages.

Of course it is an unpleasant case that nobody wants to come across. For example the English word "sick" means "suffering from a disease or illness" and it could be named as an innocent word because healthy people mostly feel pity for sick people. Unfortunately the pronunciation of the word "sick" sounds extremely vulgar to Turkish people. There is an extremely vulgar Turkish word with the same pronunciation (lacking the letter "c" in Turkish dictation) but (please do not laugh or smile) it means the male urinating and reproduction organ in anatomy. That is why English teachers in Turkey prefer teaching the word "ill" instead of the word "sick". (Everybody finds it shameful and doesn't want to hear this word colloquially in Turkey.)

There is also a matter about the dictation of some words in a language that might have some vulgar meanings in other languages which use the same alphabets. This is of course a bit far away the current forum thread we have. However I will mention an interesting point here because it is also related with an unwanted case in language learning. For example the licence plates of some cars in Turkey have the following form:



The middle part of some of licence plates may have two capital Latin scripts as in the figure above. But no licence plates can have "AM" in the script section. The reason is that it is an extremely vulgar word in Turkish language. Please do not laugh or smile but it means the main female reproduction organ which is the corresponding counterpart to the one mentioned above in the second paragraph. This two letters Turkish word is pronounced like the first syllable "um" of the English word "umbrella". Fortunately and fortunately again, the English word "am" which is the first person singular of the present tense of the verb "be" is not pronounced like in Turkish language.

As a result, there is no need to exploit the surprising outcomes obtained by pronunciation or dictation of words in distinct languages because it is a one directional vain result which brings no benefit for nobody.

VOYAGER said:

There are some first names that might be considered to be strange because of some particular meanings they have. For example the word "April" is mostly known as the fourth month in a year, however it is also used as a female name. April O'neil, April Stewart and April Hunter are a few of real female people having this first name.

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April isn't all that unique - there are several calendar months that double as common female names - May and June are quite common, and to a much lesser extent, January and August. I think I have heard of a November or December, but I think that was a unique case. You'll also hear seasonal names, although not as common as month names - Summer and Winter.

The novel (and movie) Lonesome Dove has a character by name of July Johnson, but that was a man.

Flower names are also common for women - Rose, Lavender, Lily, Daisy, Poppy, Iris, Heather, (and male version Heath) and probably others I'm missing. Tree names (Hazel, Holly, Ash, Laurel, Forrest, Willow,

Then there are all the jewel/gemstone/rock names - Opal, Amber, Jasper (usually male), Chrystal, Mica(h), Jade, Ruby, Jewel, Slate (only male?), Flint, Rock, and others.

Emotion names - Hope, Joy, etc.

Then you have all the non-English versions of such names (Esmerelda=Spanish 'emerald' for example).

You can see that from just this small sample that it's not uncommon to use object names as people names.

VOYAGER said:

Another example is the word "dick" that may be used as a male first name. Unfortunately this word has some unpolite meanings given in some dictionaries, so I will not mention here. However Dick Chenney, Dick Clark and Dick Smith are a few of well-known people having this first name. I think the same case is true for other languages.

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Dick as a name is usually just a nickname for someone who's actual name is Richard - similar to how Robert gets shortened to Bob, and William gets shortened to Bill.

My all-time favorite unfortunate foreign name that sounds terrible in English was a Vietnamese student we once had whose name was Phat Phuc.

In Vietnamese, phuc apparently means something like 'blessing or happiness', while 'phat' means something like 'prosperity' or 'accruing wealth', etc.

So while in Vietnamese it's a very auspicious name, it's relegated to a derogatory pejorative in English, which is rather ironic. Poor guy didn't understand why we had such a difficult time keeping a straight face.

For years, we had a local Asian Market that was called the "Thin-Phat Market", after the proprietors' respective last names. Not our Phat Phuc, though -some other Phat person. It was where all the underage kids went to buy cigarettes.

I believe the Chinese word for chicken is usually transliterated as gai or guy. For many years Toronto's Chinatown had a restaurant called Fatt Guy.

@5jj, don't you think that this thread has also reached the end of its useful life? When will you lock it?

VOYAGER said:

@5jj, don't you think that this thread has reached the end of its useful life? When will you lock it?

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If I was still a moderator I would not lock a thread when people are still contributing to it and everything is on topic. (Note that I deleted "also" in the quoted material.)

VOYAGER said:

@5jj, don't you think that this thread has also reached the end of its useful life? When will you lock it?

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I see no need to lock a thread that some people are enyoying.

5jj said:

I see no need to lock a thread that some people are enyoying.

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I have thought that a new post may hardly be added because the number of examples given so far is sufficient for unusual or rare first names. (The code "X Æ A-12" that Elon Musk has been said to have given as first name to his sixth son would perhaps be an unusual example but most people on Earth do not think or are not ready to adopt it as a real first name.)

Do you think if the post #22 has anything to do with the main title of the thread? The post#22 is just about the meaning in another language of an English surname's pronunciation after pronunciation. The pronunciation or dictation of some English words in some other languages may unfortunately have some really vulgar meanings but it has nothing to do with the original thread, hasn't it?

(I myself also gave two striking examples of English words, namely the words "sick" and "am". The pronunciation of the first word in English alphabet and the pronunciation of the second word in Turkish alphabet would sound extremely vulgar to any Turkish citizen. None of educated Turkish citizens would ever like to hear, spell or write them without hesitation or shame. However this type of misunderstandings in another language is not related with the main title of this thread.)

in the interests of equity I have restored post #22.

5jj said:

in the interests of equity I have restored post #22.

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Thanks a lot but I never need any of my posts be restored. I have myself deleted my previous post because I have rewritten the content.

VOYAGER, perhaps you could just turn notifications off for this thread?

I mean, if you aren't interested, you can stop reading, right?

Speaking for myself, I'm enjoying the posts that we're seeing.

@VOYAGER You need to write shorter, simpler sentences. For example, the first sentence in post #29 could be: "That's enough posts on this topic!"

(Note post #30.)

Barque said:

VOYAGER, perhaps you could just turn notifications off for this thread?

I mean, if you aren't interested, you can stop reading, right?

Speaking for myself, I'm enjoying the posts that we're seeing.

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Thanks for your kind advice. Actually I have started to think that the thread may have been reached at its limits. Perhaps no further meaningful contribution may be possible.

VOYAGER said:

Thanks for your kind advice. Actually I have started to think that the thread may have been reached at its limits. Perhaps no furher meaningful contribution may be possible.

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I just realised you're the thread-starter, so I understand what you mean. I wouldn't have said exactly what I did if I'd realised that earlier.

But this is a general language discussion. It WILL go a little off-topic at times. Don't you agree?

VOYAGER said:

Thanks for your kind advice. Actually I have started to think that the thread may have been reached its limit. Perhaps no further meaningful contribution may be possible.

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Two things. One, you could say the thread is long enough. Two, this is, I believe, the first time I have seen anybody lose interest in their own thread (one they started).

(Please note the changes to the text.)

To get back on topic, you may think that some English (Western native English speaking people) names are strange.

I put it to you that it's because of your perspective as a foreigner.

I daresay that to an Englishman or an American, the names Dick and April aren't strange at all!

I've heard of an Englishman with the surname Sidebottom. It might sound funny to a non-native English speaker, but an Englishman would just take it as a name and not think about what it means.

Barque said:

I daresay that to an Englishman or an American, the names Dick and April aren't strange at all!

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Well, a simple question to all: Does an Englishman or an American not know this or that definition for the word "dick" in well-known dictionaries? Do you still think that this word can be used as a suitable male name (even if it is said to be a nickname for the male name "Richard")? What a cultural perspective is it? Is it a logical or a nice choice to use an obscene/vulgar word as a first name? I am unable to find out the logic or decision behind the name "Dick". Could any of you bring a logical explanation?

The name "April" being rather innocent as compared to the one above may not perhaps be too much strange at all. However it may be considered to be somewhat unusual to some extent. Because calling a lady with a calendar month name is exotic though I know it has some historical roots and background.

(There are similar female names to "April" in Turkish language: "Eylül" (meaning the month September in English) and "Bahar" (meaning the season Spring).)

I will stop here giving a last example, a very common Swedish male name "Björn" which means the animal bear in English. Would any of you like to be called by the synonym of "Bear" in your native language? The synonym of "bear" in Turkish language is not used as a male name because it is pejorative but Turkish synonym for "lion" is used as a male name to some extent. The total result is that most people on Earth can't stop thinking the actual meaning of the first names, isn't it?


(The very last note for @Tarheel: I have tried to be more careful not to misspell again. I hope there isn't even one mistake this time.)

Here's a few Dicks who didn't seem bothered by their names: https://www.famousbirthdays.com/names/dick.html

VOYAGER said:

most people on Earth can't stop thinking the actual meaning of the first names, isn't it?

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Rubbish.