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How to Write Your Name in Thai & Everything You Need to Know About Thai Nicknames

One standout cultural difference between Thailand and the West is ‘names'.

If you have spent time in Thailand you will have noticed that some Thai names are often quite long, that most people don't use their birth name, that most people have a nickname, and that many people adopt Western nicknames.

In fact, the whole naming culture in Thailand is very interesting.

Learning to write your own name in Thai is also a good way to start familiarizing yourself with the Thai alphabet. You can also adopt a Thai nickname if you want.

In this post I'll look at how the most common Western names are written in Thai, and explore nickname culture –  both past and present.

I also give you some tips on how to start writing Thai. It's not as hard as you think.

Thai Nickname Culture

By now you may have noticed that Thai people generally don't use their birth name, but rather a nickname.

This nickname is usually adopted from a young age may be given by parents or other family members, friends at school, or simply adopted by the person themselves.

A Thai person may also adopt a Western nickname if they go to study or live abroad.

Thai names are often quite long and therefore a nickname is easier. My wife's name is 15 letters long, so her nickname is a blessing!

Nicknames can also be used to describe a person's personality and nature. Nicknames are also fun, thus the word for nickname in Thai…

The word for nickname in Thai is ‘cheu len‘. The literal translation is ‘name play' (len = play), but Thai uses the word order ‘noun adjective' instead of ‘adjective noun', therefore the actual translation is ‘play name'.

  • ชื่อเล่น (cheu len) – nickname

Your real name is classified as ‘cheu jing'

  • ชื่อจริง (cheu jing) – real name

Even King Bhumibol Adulyadej had a nickname. His nickname was Ong Lek (องค์เล็ก); Ong is a numerative noun for kings, princes, princesses, priests, images of Buddha, gods, angels, palaces and pagodas, and “Lek”, as you may know, means “little (one)”.

Up until 10 to 20 years ago you would hear the same nicknames over and over again. People tended to adopt nicknames that represented aspects of nature such as cute animals or flowers and other nature inspired things.

Here's a few classic female nicknames you've probably come across up:

  • Maew: แมว (cat),
  • Nok: นก (bird),
  • Poo: ปู (crab),
  • Pla: ปลา (fish),
  • Kwang: กวาง (deer)
  • Nahm /náam: น้ำ (water)
  • Má-naao: มะนาว (lemon)

The Top 10 Thai Nicknames

 In modern times the kids are getting more creative. I've heard everything from a boy named ‘Google' to a girl named ‘Babe'. My niece has a friend called ‘cartoon' (การ์ตูน)!

A number of today's nicknames are Western influenced.

Here's Thailand's Top 10 most common Thai nicknames, as surveyed by the The Ministry of Culture:

  • May: เมย์  – like the month of May
  • Ploy: พลอย  – meaning a precious stone or gem, and after the famous Thai ladyboy of the same name.
  • Nan /naen: แนน  – For a girl. This is not a Thai name but a western inspired name – which funnily means ‘grandma' in the UK.
  • Ice /ái: ไอซ์  – Cool as ice! up
  • Bank: แบงค์ – Money inspired, no doubt.
  • Fah /fáa:  ฟ้า – A girl's name meaning ‘sky’, and usually short for นางฟ้า /naang-fáa/ meaning ‘angel’
  • New /niu: นิว  – works for both boys and girls.
  • Ball /bon: บอล  – like foot-ball. A boy's name.
  • Beer /bia: เบียร์  – Yep, strange but true. Again, a boy's name.

Perhaps the most out there boy's names I've heard are ‘status' (สเตตัส) and ‘airbus' (แอร์บัส).

I recently heard the name ‘Cream' for a girl, too.

learn-to-write-thai

=> Click on the play button above to go to the Thai writing video lesson <=

Creating Your Own Nickname

So you can give yourself any nickname you want. The only real requirement is that you make it very short, and inoffensive.

But then if your name is short already, like mine (Peter),  then it kind of defeats the object.

If I had to choose one I'd probably go for something like ‘music', or something really silly like ‘wolf'.

What About Thai Surnames

Surnames have only been legally required in Thailand since 1913, when a law was introduced by King Rama VI (King Jajiravudha) that made it mandatory.

You'll notice in Thailand the surnames are only used for official purposes and when times are referring to others they will use the prefix Khun followed by the person's first name.

  • นามสกุล (naam sa-guun) – surname/family name

Funny Thai Names!

You may occasionally come across a Thai name sounds rather funny, like the name ‘Nan', which whenever I see written reminds me of my late grandmother – when Thais say it's actually pronounced Naen.

One name in particular the always draws a little disbelief from foreign visitors is the name ‘Porn' (พร).  this is really common in Thailand and always think it's bad manners to point out what it means in English because like the name ‘Poo', it doesn't have the same connotation in Thai.

In Thai, Porn is actually a lovely name. It forms part of a number of names, including ‘Suraporn' and ‘Jiraporn', and means ‘gift' or ‘blessing' – thus why parents like giving this name to their kids.

How to Write Your Name In Thai

Below I have written out some common boys and girls names in Thai. If your name isn't listed, leave a comment and I will try to add it to the list.

Please bear in mind that there will be more than one way to write your name in Thai, and this is because Western words and names don't always translate exactly into Thai script.

Moreover, the way Thais pronounce Western names isn't exactly as they are spoken in English. For example, Denise would be pronounced  and therefore written Dee-nit.

The easiest way to write your name in Thai is to find a Thai letter that corresponds to the pronunciation of your Thai name.

For example, if your name is “Maya,” you can use the letter ม for “m,” า for “a,” ย for “y” and า for “a.” You just need to put them together and write มายา for “Maya”.

write-name-thai

Boys:

  • Charlie – ชาร์ลี
  • Dan  – แดน
  • Daniel – แดเนียล
  • George – จอร์จ
  • Ian – เอียน
  • Jack – แจ็ค
  • Jacob – จาค็อบ
  • James – เจมส์
  • John – จอห์น
  • Mark  – มาร์ค
  • Michael – ไมเคิล
  • Paul – พอล
  • Peter – ปีเตอร์
  • Scott – สก๊อต
  • Thomas – โทมัส

Girls:

  • Anne –  แอน
  • Claire – แคลร์
  • Denise – เดนิส
  • Emma – เอ็มม่า
  • Elizabeth – เอลิซาเบธ
  • Julie – จูลี่
  • Joy – จอย
  • Kimberly – คิมเบอร์ลี
  • Laura – ลอร่า
  • Maria – มาเรีย
  • Olivia – โอลิเวีย
  • Rachel – เรเชล
  • Sue – ซู
  • Sandra – แซนดร้า

How to Start Learning to Write Thai

If you want to learn  how to write your name in Thai  then you will need to start learning to write Thai. This can seem not an overwhelming task considering that there are 44 consonants and 32 vowels that look completely different to the alphabet that you are used to.

But don't let that put you off. You can start learning to speak and write Thai very easily.

I recommend learning one word per day and learning to write one letter per day. This might seem like a slow way to learn but you will quickly realise that actually you can increase this to 2 or 3 words a day once you start becoming familiar with the language.

You don't need to learn to write Thai to speak Thai, but of course in the long term it is going to be very useful.

There are a number of foreign nationals living in Thailand who can speak Thai conversationally but can't read Thai because they have learnt Thai from everyday interactions and from their partners. However I recommend learning to speak Thai and practicing your Thai alphabet on the side.

Get as much conversational practice in as you can while slowly learning the consonants and vowels too.

The way I learned the alphabet was to write one consonant per page on a notepad. Then I would look at each page, close my eyes, say the name and visualise drawing the symbol. After a while I was able to say a letter and then draw it.

=> Start with These Thai Alphabet Video Lessons



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  3. Ray says

    My wife and I are expecting a new baby here in the next few months. We have settled on naming our new daughter Christina. At first, we thought it would be easy enough but upon further inspection it seems like I can't get it spelled exactly how I would like Thais to pronounce it because my wife says "it looks weird" haha. So here is what we've come up with (btw my wife is Thai): คริสตีน่า. This is questionable to my wife as she says the second "i" in Christina should be the same as the first but seeing as they are pronounced differently in english I objected. Also, I kind of object to the "ต" in the name knowing that it makes a sound that sounds almost like a lisp. What I'm wondering is if spelling it this way would be acceptable or not. Our daughter's nickname will be Tina so I really want it to be pronounce that way (Christina) when she uses her full name among her peers. Here's the spelling I was thinking of using instead please give me your advice: คริสต์ทีน่า
    Thank you in advance for any help.
    Reply

    • JamesE says

      It looks weird. Hopefully, a pro will chime in but right off the bat you’ve got a couple rules to sort out. First, an “s” sound can’t end a syllable, you wind up with a “t” or nothing. Second, if it’s a non-valid cluster all sorts of things break, so, สต์ที is basically unpronounceable. The garan on the ต means that that’s the end of the syllable but a consonant can’t stand alone so that means the “s” has to attach to the “tee” but that’s an invalid cluster so #1 kicks back in. If you want to see what it would sound like listen to how “Starbucks” is pronounced. It’s got some of those problems. I also (sorry) agree with your wife on vowel selections. That “อิ” isn’t the same as “i” in English, that’s a short “i” but can also be a short “ee”. Think the difference between คิท (think) and กิโล (kilo). So that might be confusing. How does your wife want it spelled?
      Reply

    • caughntintheact says

      Keep in mind, of course, that Christina is not a Thai word. If you look up the Thai spelling for a notable name like the singer Christina Aguilar, she spells her name in Thai คริสตีน่า. The i sound in the first instance is pronounced like the i in it. In the 2nd instance, it is pronounced like the double e in feed. The consonant ต is pronounced as an unaspirated letter t. In any event, a Thai will more than likely pronounce it
      - Khrit (aspirated K - high tone, a final letter ส is pronounced as if it were t)
      - tee (straight tone)
      - na (falling long tone)
      Even if you change spelling and tones, you may not want your daughter to have to continually correct everyone she meets. Besides if she is going to be raised in Thailand, she will likely get a nickname in short order which will be used constantly by family and friends, and may rarely use her real first name.
      Reply

    • Kittenz says

      Considering that you're living in Thailand
      I'm more on the 'คริสทีน่า' side. It looks and sounds much cuter
      This also saves you a lot of hassle with the nickname compared to using ติน่า or ตีน่า since 'ทีน่า' (Tina) also sounds much cuter
      I don't think 'ต์' is needed there since it's voided anyway and would only serve to make the name look longer (some people like long names)

      Now I imagine that when she grows up, her (very) close friends will call her either น่า(Na) or คริส/คิด(Kris/Kid-)
      Fun fact: Most of us here, save for the fussy ones, can't easily pronounce 'R' while speaking Thai. So you'll hear a lot of L or void-L instead
      Reply

    • Ray says

      Thanks to JamesE, caughntintheact, and Kittenz for the replies. I wasn't expecting such replies so my post kinda fell to the wayside but I'm all caught up now. I'll respond to everyone individually but try to hit on all points simultaneously if possible.

      James: My wife wants to spell it like this "คริสตีน่า". She is saying that is the Thai accepted way of spelling that name. I, myself, tend to wanna go with what Kittenz has recommended if it can be accepted because I really don't like the ต sound and I wanna avoid my daughter saying her name with that pronunciation. Sounds silly I guess since most will pronounce it the way they know which is what my wife is recommending. I guess I could always raise her to be able to differentiate her pronunciation of her name depending on the setting?

      caught: very very good points. I certainly don't wanna make my daughter's life harder or make her a target for bullying or even innocent jokes if I can help it. Maybe I'm thinking too much into it? Should I leave it up to my wife to decide? She likes "คริสตีน่า" and I like "คริสทีน่า". I'm up to any suggestions as to what would be the be for my daughter who will be raised in Thailand.

      Kittenz: I love your suggestion and yes I thought it would be so cute too but I don't wanna make my daughter miserable for my selfish reasons: although cute none the less. I'm really glad to only be struggling with her name because we had a doctor check up today and she is doing very well and everything is on the up and up.

      Basically, I wanna give my daughter a name to be proud of and I believe we reached that with the name Christina as it covers lots of bases between my wife and I's views and beliefs. So long as the spelling is proper and wide accepted amongst the population at large I will be happy to use whichever most people will be willing to say is the correct spelling. Any final suggestions are greatly appreciated.
      Reply

  4. Just A says

    Hi, I’d try to write name in Thai but I guess it’s quite challenging for me haha. I wanna learn Thai language so bad but I don’t know how to start. Can you help me how to start learn Thai language? And is it เยนอส (Yenos) and ยานะ (Yana) is correct way to write in Thai?
    Reply

    • JamesE says

      TTL has a lot of Learning Thai posts. Click on his "Learning Thai" link in the upper right of any page. Good first try on the names. "Yana" is pretty good but the way you spelled it would be more Yaahna. If you want the long "ah" sound at the end just switch to ยะนา. Yenos is problematic. First because there is no ending "s" sound in Thai and when an "s" occurs at the end of a word it's a "t". Second, what you wrote would be pronounced more like "Yenawt". The อ is kind of in between an "o" and an "ah". To get the short vowels in Yenos and preserve the spelling, I'd suggest เยะโนะส์. The garan - that little symbol above the ส - tells a reader not to pronounce the letter, the ะ for เ and โ is used to shorten those vowels. Good luck with your learning adventure!
      Reply

    • JamesE says

      Nope. You can't start a syllable with a vowel. If you pronounce it like a-lee-an-naa it would be อะลีอะนนา. (The อ - aw ang - are silent...) If it's a short "e" sound that ลี would be ลิ as you wrote it. All depends on how you pronounce it. Good first try, though. (FWIW... The way you wrote it should have been อาลิอานนา but would be pronounced aa-li-aan-naa - really drawn out with those long "aa" sounds.)
      Reply

  6. Al says

    I would think that Nhan would prefer a close-sounding pronunciation. The nh in nhan is actually pronounced more like nyan or นิยาน but no true equivalent in Thai - see the Youtube video, "Vietnamese Pronunciation: NH & NG", but since he seems to prefer the long ah (า) sound as in นาน as in on or bon(fire), นาน seems to be the best option.
    Reply

  7. Nhan says

    สว้สดีค่ะ, can you please help me write my name in Thai? My name is Nhan. In Vietnamese, it means peace. I was thinking นาน or แนน like how you mentions in the article. Is there another way to include the h in Thai? ขอบคุณนะค่ะ
    Reply

    • JamesE says

      No real way to include the “h”, Thai doesn’t really have that sound. แมม is really more like naen than naan. Spelling would be dependent on if the “a” sound in your name is long - naan - or short - nan. First case could be your นาน, second would be นัน. Those don’t take into account any tones your name has.
      Reply

        • JamesE says

          That wasn’t the question, c, the phoneme in question is “nh” which doesn’t exist in Thai. Sure, there are two ways to transpose an “h” from Roman into Thai - ห and ฮ - but no way to transliterate a sound like “th”, for example, or in the name in question, the “nh”.
          Reply

    • JamesE says

      You could have fun with this if you wanted. I see you started with ซู which is fine if you want ซูวันนา Su-wan-na (long "a" sound at the end). But สวน - Suwan - means garden or park. สวนนา Suwanna - a combination of garden and rice paddy - can mean farm. This kind of word play is very Thai. As c mentions in a post, some Thai names can be less than flattering, so before you go printing up stationery or getting a tattoo you might want to run it by a Thai friend to check that it's the spelling you want with no meanings you don't.
      Reply

    • C says

      All Thais are given formal names and nicknames shortly after birth. You can't just get one. My real name actually sounds like a common Thai word so Thais are comfortable calling me that but they have all said I am the only person they every knew with that nickname even though it is a common Thai word.
      Reply

        • c says

          Yes, it's common for them to have many names depending on who is addressing them. My gf has 4 different names. But my point was that they are all given a birth name and a nickname at birth that they will always be addressed by within the family and among family friends. No matter how much they hate it I might add. Both my gf and her sister have very unflattering family nicknames and they always cringe upon hearing them. As an aside it is very easy for Thais to change their legal names and many do but that cheu len is there for life (no doubt as a show of respect for the person who bestowed them with it such as your wife's grandmother).
          Reply

        • JamesE says

          My S.O.'s cheu len doesn't really work for a woman in the US so she uses her formal name in the US. My US nickname is the same as her Thai cheu len (different tone though). It can get confusing fast so I use my formal name in Thailand. The sacrifices one makes...
          Reply

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