Cambodian's name meaning

hanno · Post by **hanno** » Tue Jan 19, 2016 3:24 pm

Khmer often abbreviate there names. My girlfriend's name is Sokleng but she is called Leng. A good friend of mine is Samnang but he goes by Nang.

Samouth · Post by **Samouth** » Tue Jan 19, 2016 3:36 pm

Anchor Moy wrote:The names beginning with So: Sophat, Sopheak, Sothea ? Does the So have a meaning ?
Sometimes people with these names will say they are called Pheak or Thea(r) and leave off the So. Just wondering if this is an informal name like Pete vs Peter, or if So means something special. ??
Thanks samouth. I have plenty more questions about names

i am not really sure about the word So. However in khmer writing សុ i think it can be originated from the word សុចរិត which means clean and pure and honest. For leaving off the So. I think it is like in English as you mentioned Pete and Peter, Matt and Mathew. Moreover, for close friend, we normally call each other ah before the name. For example i would call my close friend ah Pheak, instead of ah Sopheak. ah Sopheak is long and it sounds really strange. Feel free to drop any names you have come up with.

Post by **Username Taken** » Tue Jan 19, 2016 3:41 pm

hanno wrote:Khmer often abbreviate there names. My girlfriend's name is Sokleng but she is called Leng. A good friend of mine is Samnang but he goes by Nang.

Yes, there's always Bong Da. Whose full name could be Thida, Chinda, Lida, etc.

Bonus Question: Where have you heard that tune before?

Samouth · Post by **Samouth** » Tue Jan 19, 2016 3:57 pm

Hey UT, how come you could find such a song. This was a really famous song when i was young. I remembered that i was really little listening to this song.

Post by **Username Taken** » Tue Jan 19, 2016 4:05 pm

I remember that song very clearly. It must have been around year 2000 I think. You would have been in nappies at the time.

Samouth · Post by **Samouth** » Tue Jan 19, 2016 4:17 pm

i can't remember how old i was, but i already knew how to read already as i remembered i sang along.

qinjingyou · Post by **qinjingyou** » Tue Jan 19, 2016 6:52 pm

Samouth wrote:
Anchor Moy wrote:The names beginning with So: Sophat, Sopheak, Sothea ? Does the So have a meaning ?
Sometimes people with these names will say they are called Pheak or Thea(r) and leave off the So. Just wondering if this is an informal name like Pete vs Peter, or if So means something special. ??
Thanks samouth. I have plenty more questions about names
i am not really sure about the word So. However in khmer writing សុ i think it can be originated from the word សុចរិត which means clean and pure and honest. For leaving off the So. I think it is like in English as you mentioned Pete and Peter, Matt and Mathew. Moreover, for close friend, we normally call each other ah before the name. For example i would call my close friend ah Pheak, instead of ah Sopheak. ah Sopheak is long and it sounds really strange. Feel free to drop any names you have come up with.

Ah, come on Samouth. So is Pali for good. Socheat- good health, sokunthy, good smelling...Sokunveary, perfume.
Have you read Reung Sophat?

Samouth wrote:I think it has been so long that people has abandoned the section of Cambodian Culture and Language. It is time to make this section busy again. I don't know if this is a good idea to help you all understanding the meaning of Cambodian name. However i will just write up a few names and their meaning and see if they are interesting enough.

1. Leakna: លក្ខណា: a really common female name. Leakna refers to someone who is really well-behaved and she will be a good wife and mother and it is more likely that she will never cheat her husband.

2. Srey Pich: ស្រី ពេជ្រ: Pich means diamond. Pich can be named for both male and female. Therefore, in order to differentiate between girl name and boy name. We normally put Srey which means female, before it. So, Srey pich.

3. Srey Meas: ស្រី មាស: Meas means gold. The same explanation as above.

4. Srey Moa: ស្រី ម៉ៅ: Mao means the color of tan skin. So, if someone is born with tan skin it is more likely that she will be named with Srey Moa.

5. Kalyan Ney: កល្យាណី: Kalyan Ney refers to someone who is really beautiful and very educated and normally the one who is born in the rich or higher class family. Her beauty is comparable with the beautify of the angle. In Cambodian's belief, Angel is the most beautiful woman.

Ok, so please just drop a few names you want to know and i will see if they have any meanings.

qinjingyou · Post by **qinjingyou** » Tue Jan 19, 2016 8:13 pm

Hanno reminded me of something I wanted to ask: in the previous generation, Khmer seemed to dislike using their real names. Nearly everyone seemed to use a nickname for everything but official purposes. Sometimes shortening the real name like Hanno mentioned, sometimes a different name. For example Leaphy was Nyaing, Socheat was Nuch, Daravuth was Knop.
That doesn't seem as common now, or am I less aware of it.

BTW, I always thought Daravuth was cool- dara-star + avuth- weapon.

Luigi · Post by **Luigi** » Tue Jan 19, 2016 8:42 pm

What is the meaning/significance of Som as the first part of my friends names? Somna or Somnah. Sombat, Somban. Never thought to ask them.

qinjingyou · Post by **qinjingyou** » Tue Jan 19, 2016 11:43 pm

Luigi wrote:What is the meaning/significance of Som as the first part of my friends names? Somna or Somnah. Sombat, Somban. Never thought to ask them.

Som may be Pali Sam- self. Samana is a term for someone following the path to enlightenment. (Somna?)..
sambuddha means self enlightened. (Sombat?).
Sambo means 'plenty' or 'a lot' in Khmer.

Cambodian's name meaning

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