"Leo" is a very good name for a male because it means "lion". A man named Leo would be expected to show bravery, courage, and probably carry the majestic air associated with the king of the beasts.
In the Khmer language, លីអ៊ (pronounced "lee-o") means "underwear"! So, my dear Filipino dentist friend named Dr Leo ended up being the laughing stock of a class of Cambodians coming to learn about community health development! Of course, being somewhat new to the country and language, Dr Leo had no clue what was wrong! Poor man.
My Thai friend, Manop, was also the laughing stock in Sarawak, East Malaysia, when he stood up to introduce himself at the church service. The local congregation were practically rolling around in their seats in uncontrollable laughter. Manop stepped off the stage to ask the local pastor of the church what was wrong. (After all, Manop had only said his name and nothing else.) "In our language, "manop" means "chicken."" Ahhhh, mystery solved. No wonder they were laughing. They did eventually calm down to listen to Pastor "Chicken" deliver the sermon that morning.
A name with rich meaning in one language doesn't necessarily have the same connotations in another. We should all take the approach of a student when going cross-cultural. Better keep our comments to ourselves or risk making an enemy for life.
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