@pratfallpratt8998

4 months ago

This is actually kinda similar to Thai names. Most Thai ppl go by a nickname that's usually not gender specific. Even professionals like doctors will be called Dr Nickname bc Thai last names are very long and can be hard to pronounce in different dialects. Even first names can be really long, and are often chosen by monks as something auspicious like "bringer of wealth", so nicknames are both easier and less formal. Until about 100 years ago family names were not a thing and unless u were royalty ur name was usually very short, but Thailand decided to modernize their name system so that the population could be easier documented. They made laws that first names had to be longer and no 2 families could have the same last name, thus why their last names ended up being so long to assure they were all different. Also a fun consequence is that if u meet someone with the same last name then ur almost guaranteed to be related somehow.

And the nicknames range from pretty standard shortening of their first name to a bizarre word salad of English and Thai. They usually have a story, like a food their mom craved when she was pregnant, a fav color, a hobby their dad loves, birth order (like first for the oldest), or some aspirational thing they hope their kid can afford one day. Some more standard ones would be Talay (Thai for sea), Khao, First, Sun, Earth, Mint, Porsche. But then for English speakers a lot of them sound like they opened a dictionary or magazine and picked the first word they saw, like Pooh, Boom, Fluke, Auto, TopTen, etc.

Of course with anything there are exceptions, first names can be shorter now and some choose to not use a nickname. But i like the idea of having a formal, symbolic name and also a more casual, fun one.

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