# Do any common American names have unfortunate translations? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 21, 2014, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-common-american-names-have-unfortunate-translations/686602 "2014-04-21T12:52:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-common-american-names-have-unfortunate-translations/686602/21 "2014-04-21T23:36:05Z")
You would think naming your kid “Zachary” would keep them safe in any foreign land. Sure, it’s long and hard to pronounce, but surely it doesn’t mean anything unfortunate in another tongue. You’d be wrong. If little Zachary should one day end up in Northern Cameroon, as a Zack or two seems to do every year as a Peace Corps volunteer, you’d find out that “Zachary” means “penis” in Fulfulde, and Zack would quickly pick out a local name to go by. Which is better than my friend Maya, who found out that her name means “currently dying,” or Bailey, whose name was mispronounced as “Bearni,” meaning “became angry,” or poor Andie, whose name means “boobies.” ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-common-american-names-have-unfortunate-translations/686602/22 "2014-04-22T00:03:33Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > An American named John Thomas would raise a few eyebrows in Britain too. I met a Canadian with that name. He’s the first person I thought of as I was reading the OP. ---
**Author:** ![danhanegan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb9ed0/32.png) [@danhanegan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danhanegan)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-common-american-names-have-unfortunate-translations/686602/23 "2014-04-22T00:31:47Z")
I had a Spanish teacher in college named Mrs. Blackwell who delighted in explaining that the Spanish translation of “black well” refers to a septic tank. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-common-american-names-have-unfortunate-translations/686602/24 "2014-04-22T00:41:15Z")
Our friends shared a nanny with us when our 2 kids were little. She was from Guatemala. It occured to me a week into it that to her, Cassie and Asa were “Almost” and “That.” ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-common-american-names-have-unfortunate-translations/686602/25 "2014-04-22T03:00:33Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > I think _Fannie Mae_ just sounds odd, to Brits, as the name of a major financial corporation, quite apart from any sexual _double entendre_ it might evoke. _Freddie Mac_ seems almost as silly, really. Yes, but the Brits have the FTSE . . . not so bad until you speak it: “footsie.” ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-common-american-names-have-unfortunate-translations/686602/26 "2014-04-22T04:15:14Z")
> [@tapu](#): > > Our friends shared a nanny with us when our 2 kids were little. She was from Guatemala. It occured to me a week into it that to her, Cassie and Asa were “Almost” and “That.” Nope, “that one (f)” is _Esa_. _Asa_ is handle. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-common-american-names-have-unfortunate-translations/686602/27 "2014-04-22T04:37:59Z")
I knew a guy who used to make a big deal about his last name, Horton. He claimed that Spanish speakers would guffaw and call him “ortón.” I have my doubts. He was a really big asshole, though. ---
**Author:** ![Cerealbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Cerealbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerealbox)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-common-american-names-have-unfortunate-translations/686602/28 "2014-04-22T05:08:21Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > “Dole” is the Farsi word for “penis”, so this caused much amusement when Bob Dole was a presidential candidate. Never mind all the Viagra ads he did later on. > > While we’re on that subject, the launch of Cialis was delayed by some months, not because of safety or efficacy issues, but because some people with the surname Cialis sued the drug company to change the drug’s name, even by just one letter. They obviously lost. :o > > There’s the Vietnamese name Phuc, and thanks to the tsunami, we do know now how to pronounce the Thai city Phuket. they make bananas, too ---
**Author:** ![Kimble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimble/32/19185_2.png) [@Kimble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimble)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-common-american-names-have-unfortunate-translations/686602/29 "2014-04-22T06:53:30Z")
When [transcripted](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcription_(linguistics)), Keith means “kiss” in Korean and “whale” in Russian (pronounced “kee-suh” and “keet”, respectively). Those might not be truly unfortunate, but they’re definitely not typical English names. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-common-american-names-have-unfortunate-translations/686602/30 "2014-04-22T07:30:18Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > I see that [“Dikshit”](https://boards.straightdope.com/wiki/Dikshit) is a known Hindu family name. Depending on who you talk to, it’s pronounced “dixit” or “dick-shit”, the latter having uncomfortable connotations in English. This is really a problem with the English transliteration being inadequate. In the actual name, the initial ‘d’ sound is pronounced(and written - the Hindi alphabet is phonetic) differently from ‘Dick-shit’, as is the final ‘t’ sound. The ‘d’ in the beginning sounds similar to the initial sound of ‘Thee’(As in thee, thou). I can’t think of a parallel in english for how the final ‘t’ sounds, but the change is exactly the same as happens with the initial ‘d’ sound, if you can imagine that. So, the correct pronunciation would be Thee-xit, with the double e sound of Thee being cut short, and the t in the end being a soft(?) t. Ah screw it, here’s a video with the name being said a few times. https://www.youtube.com/embed/9aoxn92oKxc?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque As for my contribution, the European name Lauda(there’s even an airline named Lauda air) is the impolite word for ‘penis’ in Hindi ---
**Author:** ![seodoa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@seodoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seodoa)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-common-american-names-have-unfortunate-translations/686602/31 "2014-04-22T08:19:26Z")
One of my mother’s closest friends is named Deb. When they came together to visit me in Japan neither my mother nor I would let her forget that her name, transliterated into Japanese as _debu_, means “fatty.” Not an American name, but I had a Finnish roommate during school whose name was Esa, which means “pet food” or “livestock food” in Japanese. The Finnish surnames “Aho” and “Ahonen” are also amusing, sounding something like “dumbass” and “what a dumbass” in the Kansai dialect. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-common-american-names-have-unfortunate-translations/686602/32 "2014-04-22T08:23:01Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > “Dole” is the Farsi word for “penis”, so this caused much amusement when Bob Dole was a presidential candidate. Never mind all the Viagra ads he did later on. I mentioned that in post 15. You’ve been ninja’d. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-common-american-names-have-unfortunate-translations/686602/33 "2014-04-22T11:47:04Z")
Bldysabba, that final sound (mis)written as a “t” is an “unaspirated final stop.” English doesn’t have them. Malay has them (so does Indonesian). To an English speaker, it’s as if you end a word by making the mouth shape for a consonant, without ever following through and actually pronouncing the darned thing. Thus the original Malay pronunciation of “amok” (“crazy” – a word English borrowed from Malay) sounds to us more like “amoh” – we can maybe detect a hard sound at the end there if we listen carefully, but we can’t tell if it’s a “k,” a “t,” or what. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-common-american-names-have-unfortunate-translations/686602/34 "2014-04-22T11:51:15Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Indeed, [Fanny] has a somewhat unfortunate, though different, alternative meaning in America too. True but it’s not quite as unfortunate, approximating “bum” and suitable for publicly telling children what to brush off when they’ve been in the sand pile. > [@](#): > > I think _Fannie Mae_ just sounds odd, to Brits, as the name of a major financial corporation, quite apart from any sexual _double entendre_ it might evoke. True enough. The company’s legal name is Federal National Mortgage Association. Due to it’s initialism FNMA, some thought it was cute to pronounce it the same as the candy company Fannie May. (We seem to think it’s important to be able to pronounce initialisms, and sometimes bend over backwards to manufacture a title with an initialism that can be pronounced.) Anyway, the nickname became so pervasive that the company finally trademarked it and now that is how they officially market themselves. I have no idea why you would pronounce FHLMC as “Freddie Mac.” We also have Sallie Mae (SLM) and Farmer Mac (FAMC). ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-common-american-names-have-unfortunate-translations/686602/35 "2014-04-22T13:36:42Z")
Peter is the infinitive form of the French verb “to pass wind.” I once heard a story about a Welshman named Clive Owen Jones, who never thought there was anything wrong with his name until Spanish customs officials questioned the \*COJONES \*monogram on his suitcase. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-common-american-names-have-unfortunate-translations/686602/36 "2014-04-22T14:36:53Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Nope, “that one (f)” is _Esa_. _Asa_ is handle. You’re right, of course. But I was talking only of the phonetic realization. When we called him “Asa,” it sounded like \*esa \*to her. \*Just realized that not all may know that the English name is pronounced /AY-suh/. We ended up calling him Isa in Spanish, de Israel. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-common-american-names-have-unfortunate-translations/686602/37 "2014-04-22T14:43:55Z")
Here’s a blog post that considers what common American names mean _in English_: [DUG! ROWS! YOU TWO GET IN HERE!](http://tapu-tapu-tapu.blogspot.com/2012/03/dug-rows-you-two-get-in-here.html) ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-common-american-names-have-unfortunate-translations/686602/38 "2014-04-22T15:17:22Z")
Also: [http://tapu-tapu-tapu.blogspot.com/2011/10/Names That Aren’t Much to Live Up To](http://tapu-tapu-tapu.blogspot.com/2011/10/i-would-rather-drown-as-put-whats-in.html) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-common-american-names-have-unfortunate-translations/686602/39 "2014-04-22T15:35:23Z")
> [@tapu](#): > > You’re right, of course. But I was talking only of the phonetic realization. When we called him “Asa,” it sounded like \*esa \*to her. > \*Just realized that not all may know that the English name is pronounced /AY-suh/. We ended up calling him Isa in Spanish, de Israel. Ah, English dialects! The Asa I knew was pronounced Asa, but maybe he’d lived among Hispanics for too long. Your final choice is a funny one too, since Isa would be a nickname for Isabel (so, Liz). And that ay rendering drives me nuts… if it is like in day, it’s not the same sound that Spanish represents with e, but people in these boards use it so often I even did it once. What is it supposed to be “ay like in…?”? ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-common-american-names-have-unfortunate-translations/686602/40 "2014-04-22T15:47:08Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Ah, English dialects! The Asa I knew was pronounced Asa, but maybe he’d lived among Hispanics for too long. Your final choice is a funny one too, since Isa would be a nickname for Isabel (so, Liz). And that ay rendering drives me nuts… if it is like in day, it’s not the same sound that Spanish represents with e, but people in these boards use it so often I even did it once. What is it supposed to be “ay like in…?”? If you don’t render it phonetically, I can’t tell how you’re pronouncing it. Are you saying the person you know pronounced his name as /AH-suh/? Isa is not unknown in Hispanic culture as a nickname for Israel, especially in Guatemala where naming a child with a non-Spanish name is fairly common. (You meet Brians, Jocelyns, Jennifers there, with Spanish pronunciation. So anyway, yeah, de Isabel, but also de Israel. Regarding the /ay/ you mention–do you mean in the phonetic representation /AY-suh/? That is a standard way to show the English ‘long a’ sound when you need to supply pronunciation but your audience is lay. It is the ‘long a’ of day, as you note, written with English, not Spanish, phonics conventions. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-common-american-names-have-unfortunate-translations/686602.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-common-american-names-have-unfortunate-translations/686602.md?page=3)