Giving Your Cat a Thai Name

by Suphawut (Bryan) Wathabunditkul

Strangely enough, almost all of the cat owners in Thailand give their cats the English or Western names, whereas other people outside Thailand are looking for Thai names for their cats.

• สีสวาด /seeR saL waatL/ ['Sawaad' is like the English word '(Thai) baht' spelled with a 'd']
  fawn-colored and also a famous species of Siamese cat
• สีครีม /seeR khreemM/
  Creamy brown-colored
• สีทราย /seeR saaiM/ [like the word "Sine" but without '-n' sound]
  sandy-colored
• สีทอง /seeR thaawngM/ [like the word 'long']
  gold-colored
• น้ำตาล /namH dtaanM/ [like the last name 'Kahn']
  brown-colored or sugar
• เหมียว  /miaaoR/ [longer pronunciation than Mah-Meaow below & with a rising tone]
  Thai onomatopoeia, the way we imitate a cat's sound in Thai
• ลูกชาย /luukF chaaiM/ [exactly like the word 'shy']
  a son
• วิฬาร์  /wiH laaM/
  a royal word for a cat
• แทนไทย  /thaaenM thaiM/
  a Thai representative
• สายไหม /saaiR maiR/ [both rising tones]
  a silky thread
• วิเชียรมาส /wiH chiianM maatF/
  a diamond with the golden threads inside or the golden lightning
• โกญจา  /go:hnM jaaM/
  a resonant voice or sound
• ศุภลักษณ์ /soopL phaH lakH/ — super luck! :-)
  Literally, this means: "auspicious characteristics, features, looks"
• ไอ้เสือน้อย /aiF seuuaR naawyH/
  You, little tiger!
• หนูแดง /nuuR daaengM/
  a tiny, red-sugar thing
• มะเหมี่ยว  /maH miaaoL/
  a kind of Thai jambool, jambu or jambul (fruit)
• จุฬา  /jooL laaM/
  delicate, beautiful

1. ชาตรี  /chaaM dtreeM/ (hard T sound as in 'Stay') — masculine
2. ชยันตร์  /chaH yanM/ — victory
3. จินดา  /jinM daaM/ — precious jewelries
4. ขวัญใจ /khwanR jaiM/ — the apple of one's eye, the beloved of one's heart
5. นริศา  /naH riH saaR/ — the King!!!
6. นิรันดร์ /Ne-run/ — forever

Now, I will show you how some of these names can be written in Thai. Visual forms helps a lot when it comes to decision-making. I believe that one of these Thai names might be able to appeal to your eyes and thus influence you to select it. It's pretty much like you look at each name carefully while trying to picture your Siamese cat with each of them. Enjoy.

1. Rasha/Raja


2. Rama — Rama is how most Westerners pronounce Raam (right below).


3. Raam (like 'arm' but without the retroflex 'r') is the real pronunciation of this word in Thailand.


4. Chula (except kids still want to say Choo-la, not Ju-LAH).


5. Narin — yes, this is pronounced with the primary stress falling on the 2nd syllable.


6. good ol' Naris.


7. This is how Chulanaris is written.

And this is Chulanarin...

 

And this is Baboo (1987-2005)

 

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