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What's in a name? More than expected
Source: Agencies |
November 18, 2009, Wednesday
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Print Edition
A LONDON-BASED translation firm is offering parents-to-be the chance to check the meaning of prospective baby names in other languages because you never know where in the world the kid might someday encounter embarrassment.
Celebrity couple Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes might have thought twice about naming their daughter Suri if they'd known that it means "pickpocket" in Japanese, "turned sour" in French, and "horse mackerels" in Italian, suggests Today Translations.
For 1,000 pounds (US$1,678), the company's linguists will carry out a "basic name translation audit" of names, checking their meaning in 100 languages.
While open to everyone, the firm said it expects to mainly attract celebrity clients, who are known for giving their babies unusual names.
Other celebrity baby names it has checked include Kai Rooney, the newborn son of English soccer player Wayne Rooney. His name means "probably" in Finnish, "pier" in Estonian, and "stop it" in the west African language of Yoruba.
And while musicians Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale may have known Zuma meant "peace" in Arabic when choosing their son's name, they may not have been aware it also translates as "Lord frowns in anger" in the Aztec language of Nahuatl.
Some unusual celebrity baby name choices, however, elude any attempts at translation, the company admits.
Take Jermajesty - the son of Michael Jackson's brother Jermaine.
Celebrity couple Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes might have thought twice about naming their daughter Suri if they'd known that it means "pickpocket" in Japanese, "turned sour" in French, and "horse mackerels" in Italian, suggests Today Translations.
For 1,000 pounds (US$1,678), the company's linguists will carry out a "basic name translation audit" of names, checking their meaning in 100 languages.
While open to everyone, the firm said it expects to mainly attract celebrity clients, who are known for giving their babies unusual names.
Other celebrity baby names it has checked include Kai Rooney, the newborn son of English soccer player Wayne Rooney. His name means "probably" in Finnish, "pier" in Estonian, and "stop it" in the west African language of Yoruba.
And while musicians Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale may have known Zuma meant "peace" in Arabic when choosing their son's name, they may not have been aware it also translates as "Lord frowns in anger" in the Aztec language of Nahuatl.
Some unusual celebrity baby name choices, however, elude any attempts at translation, the company admits.
Take Jermajesty - the son of Michael Jackson's brother Jermaine.
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