[name_m]Just[/name_m] for fun, people who know more than one language - which names do you think are most unfortunate going from one language to the other?
Here are some terrible Icelandic-English examples off the top of my head:
[name_f]Isla[/name_f] - homophone of æla, Icelandic word for vomit
”rsól - pronounced like hour-soul, but every time I just hear arsehole
Geir - pronounced almost exactly like gayer (comedy show here did a joke based on this, with a kid named [name_m]Flemming[/name_m] Geir)
There was a foreign exchange student from Vietnam I believe (it was 7 years ago I can’t remember fully) but her first name was Pu, last name Ping… in my foreign language club the teacher introduced her to everyone “This is Pu Ping”
The only one I can think of right now is Finnick, which sounds exactly like the Russian word for date (the fruit). It’s not actually that bad and I still really like Finnick.
i don’t know if this is exactly in context of the forum, but nimrod is an actual hebrew name. it means hunter.
also, there was a woman who wrote a book where the main character was named peter zak, and they had to change the name in the swedish translation because peter and zak both mean penis.
When my dad was in [name_f]India[/name_f] he met a man whose real last name was Sh*t (obviously replace the * with an “I”). It’s pronounced and spelled the same way.
I’ve lost track of the incredible quantity of names that sound strange because they contain an Italian word. I’m sure many of them are lovely, but being Italian, I cannot bring myself to like them.
Take [name_f]Cordelia[/name_f], for example. “[name_f]Corda[/name_f]” means “Rope” in Italian. I wouldn’t name my daughter Ropelia.
I really love [name_f]Nerissa[/name_f], but “[name_m]Nero[/name_m]” means black in Italian, and my friends make funny faces when I mention the name.
The real winner here is probably [name_f]Pippa[/name_f], which is a slang word for an activity related to sex.
@cloverish - There is a British equestrian athlete named [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] Funnel who had to go by [name_f]Phillipa[/name_f] Funnel when she competed in the 2004 Olympics in Athens because the meaning of [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] in Greek is something similar to in Italian - apparently!
I also speak Italian (not as a first language) and the name that always strikes a nerve for me is [name_f]Cara[/name_f] - I know it has nice meanings in other languages but all I can think of is that it means expensive in Italian.
[name_f]Pippa[/name_f] is definitely the worst! In Greece is a slang word for an activity related to sex as @cloverish mention. If you ever came to Athens & your name is [name_f]Pippa[/name_f], I feel sorry for you lol ( otherwise it’s a pretty namr) .
[name_f]My[/name_f] only thought right now is [name_f]Alaia[/name_f]. It’s a Basque (I think?) name, but all my British friends are put off of it because they say “a liar” the exact same way.
[name_f]Josefina[/name_f] in Spanish is hoe-sef-ina I would hate that not that hoe is used that much as an insult.
[name_u]Ash[/name_u] I would pronounce [name_f]Alaia[/name_f] A-lay-ah and a liar as ay-ly-ah
