One of the most obvious examples that visitors to Thailand will come across is the use of Thai nicknames. When a Thai child is born, he or she will be given an official name. This is normally Sanskrit in origin, will consist of two or more syllables and will invariably mean something positive such as long life or happiness. This name will then be used on all legal and official documents. However, the majority of Thais will also be given a nickname. The reason behind this is to confuse the bad spirits and stop them from being attracted to the baby. The nicknames are often short one syllable names such as Lek (small), Fon (rain), Fah (sky). The names aren’t always flattering such as Gob (frog), Gai (chicken) or Ouan (fat). These nicknames given at birth are then carried through the rest of that person’s life. So, Lek (small) can turn out to be big and Ouan (fat) can end up as a pencil-slim catwalk model. It’s also believed that spirits are attracted to the beautiful and some Thai people, particularly the older generation, may ‘compliment’ a new-born baby by referring to it as nakliat (ugly) or ouan (fat).