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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

names that mean something in other languages

84 replies

LoucheLady · 28/08/2016 10:49

I live in an area with high immigration where 75% of kids at DC1's school are bilingual in a particular minority language. When I introduced newborn DC2 to our neighbours with her standard English name, they were a bit Hmm and Grin and said "you know what that means in XXX language, don't you"? Oh shit I thought, I've called her the XXX equivalent of dogbreath or something. Turns out it's not that bad, it just means daytime, but it got me thinking, it would be interesting to hear what other names have, erm, unfortunate meanings in other languages. Like my poor French friend Fanny.

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oldlaundbooth · 02/09/2016 17:20

' Like my poor French friend Fanny.'

Yup. DH is French and was astounded when I told him this.

SpuriouserAndSpuriouser · 02/09/2016 12:25

Not really a different language but the name Melena is pronounced exactly the same as the word melaena, which is a medical term meaning black stools caused by upper GI tract bleeding. I always cringe slightly at that!

Caipora · 02/09/2016 12:15

Kione sida is aids in Portuguese too Grin. I know a few people called that here in Brazil, I always thought it was spelt Cida though.

Kione · 02/09/2016 11:57

StMary I feel the same about Beau

Kione · 02/09/2016 11:56

I know a Brazilian girl called Sida, which is Aids in Spanish.

YourNewspaperIsShit · 01/09/2016 22:22

User my husky is also Mishka! Shock

Pleasemrstweedie · 01/09/2016 19:28

I know a lovely lady from somewhere in Africa. Her name is Labia.

user1471451684 · 01/09/2016 19:23

Our husky is called Mishka which is fur in Russian.....for Info all the characters in the lion king are Swahili for the animals simba- lion cub pumba- pig....

StMary · 01/09/2016 19:21

Slightly OT but I wince a bit at Beau as a girls name. It's a masculine word and means handsome in French.

It would be like a French boy being called pretty.

Kione · 01/09/2016 19:15

Isla means island in spanish

EssentialHummus · 01/09/2016 19:15

Luke is onion in Russian

Or manhole cover, with my pronunciation Grin

I wanted to call BabyHummus Lev, which is "heart" in Hebrew, but we unfortunately know too many wanker Levs.

user1471734618 · 01/09/2016 19:08

no, island in Italian is isola

NauseousKitty · 01/09/2016 19:04

I got a bib embroidered in Italy with Isla on it. Very funny looks as it obviously means island and not a baby name.

Nataleejah · 31/08/2016 21:22

Luke is onion in Russian

runningandjumping · 31/08/2016 20:44

Fion means "ass" in French, when an acquaintance called her daughter Ffion, I was horrified!

newroundhere · 31/08/2016 19:13

My Japanese MIL said that Ben means poo in Japanese so we decided against it for DS ...

TrinityForce · 31/08/2016 19:05

Emma DOES sound like bucket in Dutch, but it's a very popular name in both the Netherlands and Belgium.

The word for bucket has a different 'E' sound at the start and an 'er' (Emmer), so please don't let that put anyone off using it for their child.

ClaudiaWankleman · 31/08/2016 18:24

MrsGardening It's pronounced the same way as 'zhou' in mandarin. Zhou can be a surname, elbow, week, curse, continent or an ancient word for a boat. It's really nothing to worry about!

allegretto · 31/08/2016 17:18

Donna means woman in Italian - a bit blunt as a name.

Caipora · 31/08/2016 09:55

I knew an English woman on a diplomat post n Brazil, who called her daughter Coco. Said with emphasis on the first o it means coconut. But she emphasised the last O, introducing her daughter to the school as "cocow" which sounds like cocô in Portuguese, which means poo. I can imagine there were some raised eyebrows that day.
Gemma sounds like gema which means egg yolk in Portuguese.
Pippa is like pipa which means kite.
Outing but my sons name is Tomás. It needs the accent otherwise it means you take or you drink.
I knew a boy at school called Shirag. Everyone called him shitrag.

Original poster
LoucheLady · 31/08/2016 09:41

I remember reading that the former French PM Jean-Marc Ayrault had a similar problem, the Arabic pronunciation of his name meant "his cock".

OP posts:
Cineraria · 31/08/2016 00:37

A friend of mine has an Aunty Shitall and and Great Uncle Kanti (the "a" in his name is pronounced "uh" like the "a" in Emma).

My Scottish maiden name sounds fine when I speak it but when Arabic speakers try to write it down in Arabic, where the short vowel sounds aren't usually indicated, they often smile as they end up spelling it the same as an Arabic word meaning mad.

LaBrujaPiruja · 31/08/2016 00:18

margaritasbythesea your DH is right, rebeca = cardigan. And ballerina shoes are called sabrinas!

ptumbi I don't think the Russian girl changed her name... Nastia/Nastya is a nickname for Anastasia. She just decided it would be best to use her full/formal Christian name.

ChuffMuffin · 30/08/2016 15:06

I know a girl called Naia, pronounced like N-eye-ah. Unfortunately the pronounciation of the Afrikaans word naaier is exactly the same and it means fucker/whore. Blush

LunaLoveg00d · 30/08/2016 15:05

There was a girl in my daughter's class called Swastika which is a Hindu religious symbol, but obviously have very different connotations in Western Europe.