Names That Don't Work in Other Countries / Cultures...Just for Fun

[35andThriving]

I was just wondering what perfectly ordinary names wouldn't work in other parts of the world.

I have heard that the name Penelope has the Spanish word for penis in it, and Pippa is rude in several countries.

It just made me think there must be other examples and that it could be an interesting topic for a thread.

I knew a guy in St Petersburg called Luke, which means 'onion' in Russian. He got a lot of sniggers when he introduced himself.

Scarlet/ Scarlett means embarrassment in Dublin. Scarleh for yer face, scarleh for yer Ma for havin’ yeh and so on.

Jemima in the states doesn't go down so well, google 'aunt Jemima' for some nasty old racial stereotyping

Cock is a dutch boys name but very severely declining. It is hardly given to babies anymore. I did meet a middle aged Cock through my job 20 years ago.

I knew someone once called Elspeth who said French people found her name funny because it sounds like "she farts".

There is an American author who's first name is Joby. Jobby means a poo up here and joby is a dialectic variant of it. 😂

The fad name Bodhi isn't viewed well in some parts of Asia. It's a Buddhist term and using the name is seen as another form of appropriation, rather like having a tattoo of Buddha.

Cohen only works if your Jewish and it's a surname anyway. Shame as it does sound nice. I heard Cohen is a name in its own right in the Netherlands but I've never checked if it's true. I was also told it's pronounced as Coon (a racial slur in English).

Colin is a type of fish in French.

I've just said on another thread that I like the name Emma. It doesn't seem so good now I know it means blood in Greek. It's definitely lost some on it's charm.

Bogie, short for Bogart is perfectly acceptable in the US. Not so much here!

I’m told Ben is rude in Japanese.

C. O. Jones might be worth reconsidering.

Jude is a perfectly normal name in the English language ....is it not? St Jude

Mickey and Willy/ie are slang for penis in Ireland ....still plenty of (mainly older) men called them.

American call bum bags ‘fanny packs’....used to make me laugh so much when I lived there.

Harry in Russian because he’ll be renamed Garry. Likewise:
Henry - genry
Horatio - goratio
Hugo - gugo
And so on.

Coen is indeed a perfectly normal Dutch name, which is pronounced coon.
DH has an Irish aunt called Byna (sp?),which is pronounced the same as bijna, which is the Dutch word for almost.
My other favourites have already been mentioned.

Thanks, everybody for answering

Mimi means pee in Maori, the first time I came across it as a name I was horrified!

The Swedish name Bengt (pronounced bent)

@Lunde

The Swedish name Bengt (pronounced bent)

I watched Borgen & there was a character called Bent & I liked the name!

Not so good in English though!

In German there's Mads-pronounced Mats.

Oh and I love the name Malachi but apparently malaka means wanker in Greek

Hugh - a normal enough name you might think. Not if you're French - you would pronounce it like "Yoooh" (ie it sounds like You).
My Dad asked his friend what her grandson was called and she replied "You" !!

Similar to what a pp said I remember some French people laughing at a boy called Conner's name as it sounds a bit like "Connard"

I had a friend at uni called Azriel which is a common Hebrew name. He started teaching efl and most of his students were Muslim so he shortened it to az. Though one of his colleagues called him by his full name in front of thr class and they freaked out. Azriel is the angel of death is Islam

Moana (like the Disney character)
Actually the name of someone in porn in Italy (or something along those lines) according to my Italian relative. They had to change the name for the Disney film when it was released in Italy

TinyTear I loved the name Tia when I was pregnant with my dd but my ex-P is Brazilian so it was no good as it would have seemed silly to his side of the family.

Millie/Milly apparently! I remember working in Northern Ireland and half the office cackling when they heard me talking about someone called Millie. It can be derogatory and originally stems from the girls who'd work in mills in the 1800s. I think it now means someone rather rough and brash, perhaps poorly spoken and unemployed.