Funniest Cultural Names?
ok, so in setswana, and most bantu languages, names translate literally. take my name for instance. “warona” literaly translates to “ours” or its actually 3 words: “o” meaning “she/he/it”, “a” meaning “of” and “rona” meaning “us” so my name means “she who is of us” but the “o a” sound basically becomes “wa” some people in botswana write my name as “Oarona”.
other examples, names like “lorato” (my sister’s name) mean “love”. Motlalepula means “bringer of the rain” etc.
now when i say literally translated, i mean it. like i will hear people talking and they’ll say my name and sometimes i’ll turn, only to realise they were just saying “our..something” you get me? like the name “hope” in english, or “rose” or “grace”.
but of course now a lot of people want to give their children “english” names. and no, i don’t mean ones like “mary” or “alice” or “paul”. they want the names to have the meanings that the setswana ones would have but in english. so what ends up happening is people with names like “innocent” or “lucky” or “beauty”. those are some very common ones, and actually in english they don’t sound TOO bad. but some of the names come out all weird. like the name “staffnurse” is quite popular, basically the child was named in honor of the “staff nurse” who delivered him/her. and then some parents have just gone for names they felt “sound” nice, so you have people named “takesure” or “verynice” or “lovedom” my mom’s first boyfriend was called “lovington” we tease her about it all the time.
they get weirder, names like “elastic” or “broom” or “desk” or “chair”
and then, there is a tradition in botswana where if a woman has had a few miscarriages/still borns or her babies have died when very young, they say she should name the next one to be born an ugly name and thus it will survive. whether the superstition is true or not, SOME of the babies are bound to survive and grow up with said ugly name. i know a guy called “mathatha?” which mean “trouble” or “problems”. my sister went to school with 2 sisters named “gabanthatha” and “gabampatle” meaning “they don’t love me” and “they don’t want me” respectively. the name “matlakala” is quite popular. it literally translates to “garbage” or “rubbish”
ok, does this happen anywhere else?
December 26th, 2007 at 9:18 pm
I love Thai nicknames. You name it, I’ve heard Oil, Bowl, First, Top, Bible, Bank, Earth, Sand…just about everything you can think of really.
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December 27th, 2007 at 3:30 am
In Batak Culture of North Sumatra, Indonesia, parents are supposed to name their kid after the first thing they see when the child is born. Thus there are many Meja’s (Table), Kursi (Chair) and other pieces of furniture. My favourite is Obeng (Wrench) hahaha… oh and there was also an Errikson that my dad knew.. seeing as thats not a very Indonesian name my dad asked why he was named that. Apparently as soon as he was born, his dads phone rang… hahahaha….
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January 4th, 2008 at 12:45 am
Who wants to be John Darling when you can be Tinkerbell? I mean, after all, he really was a useless character…
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January 18th, 2008 at 6:48 am
LOL, so does that mean Indonesia we’ll soon have people named “iPhone”? Awesome…
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January 19th, 2008 at 10:54 pm
I have (Nigerian) family members named Glory (my husband), Peace, Precious and Innocent.
Spanish nicknames are great: Palo (stick, for skinny people) gordo (fatty), chancho (pig, also for a chubby person) and mijo (”my son,” even if the person is the same age or older than you) are very common.
American celebrity baby names are the funniest. My theory is that celebrities are desperately seeking attention (that’s why they try to become famous in the first place), so this is another way to get attention. Hey celebrities sure have their own wacky culture! Here are some names that famous Americans have named their children, and I am absolutely not making this up:
- Audio Science
- Banjo
- Denim
- Moon Unit
- Fifi-Trixibelle
- Dweezil
- Tigerlily Heavenly Hiraani
- Moxie Crimefighter
- Betty Kitten
- Pine
- Calico
- Diva
- Anastasia Beaverhausen
- Jermajesty
- Apple
- Peaches
- Pilot Inspekter
- Cannon
- Kal-El (this is Superman’s birth name)
- I.P. Freely (this is not a joke)
- Tabooger
- Daisy Boo
- Rocket
- Satchel
- Belle Marmalade
This is cracking me up so much I should make it it’s own post.
URL: http://www.rateitall.com/t-21102-strange-celebrity-baby-names.aspx
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April 11th, 2008 at 10:33 am
wow, there are definitely some interesting names out there huh? I know a few Zimbabweans with interesting names:
Beloved
Promise
And I knew a Tanzanian named Good Luck. I think its great how optimistic and happy the names can be. I mean, to name your kid Good Luck, its kind of wishing them good luck for the rest of their lives right?
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June 11th, 2008 at 12:58 am
LOL, who names their kids “Audio Science”? I’m a geek, but there’s no way I’ll name my kid “iPhone” or “Lolcat”
Actually… hmm…
Lolcat Royer… I like the sound of that..
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June 11th, 2008 at 2:33 am
“Major Major Major Major had had a difficult time from the start.
Like Miniver Cheevy, he had been born too late - exactly thirty-six hours too late for the physical well-being of his mother, a gentle ailing woman who, after a full day and a half’s agony in the rigors of childbirth, was depleted of all resolve to pursue further the argument over the child’s new name.”
- Catch 22, by Joseph Heller
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June 11th, 2008 at 4:42 am
In South Africa, there were a few nice ones (for ladies) like Precious, Glory, Faith, etc. For men, there were some…dodgy ones.
There was Boy Man, and Guilty.
My dad had a colleague who named his children Cyber something and I forget the other name but it had a lot to do with computers.
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June 11th, 2008 at 9:29 am
I know a girl in Jordan whose name is sarsoora. It literally translates as female cockroach.
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