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Kathreya - Thai, f?
This is the name of one of the Big Brother contestants in the UK (no... I haven't been watching it... just came across the name in the newspaper and thought it was very pretty!).Having googled this Kathreya, it seems she is from Thailand. (Now I've seen a photo of her, she looks quite terrifying!). I can't find anything about her name, though. Does anyone know about its origins - is it a Thai name? Or possibly some spin on Katherine?Thanks!
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The Thai spelling would help.
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Google shows the Thai spelling is likely to be แคทรียา (sara ae, kho khwai, tho thahan, ro rua, sara ii, yo yak, sara aa). If this is correct, then I do not recognize it as of Sanskrit derivation (the closest would have been gaidrIYA, which though phonologically possible in Sanskrit, is probably not unless it is a patronyimic. The name is also spelt in English as Cathriya or Cathareeya (As in the name Cathriya English). Similarly Kasisoba/Kasisopha (กสิโสภา; ko kai, so sua, sara i, sara o so sua, pho samphao, sara aa) would have been kasisobhA in Sanskrit, again not recognizable. They can, however, easily be Pali (for example, derived via Sanskrit palatal s going to Pali dental s).Actually, Looking at Cathriya and Benjawan etc. (and their usage), I started wondering whether their origin was as `Thai-ization' of English names like Catherine and Banjamin. I do not mean to ask whether they are meaningless in Thai (and would love to know their meaning), but rather whether people named their kids this because it sounded like the English name.May be my ignorant ramblings will goad someone knowledgeable about Thai into responding?
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