What should I name a koala?

The theme for vacation Bible school this summer is a trip to Australia and we'll be doing puppet shows for the kids. We have a new koala puppet who needs a name. Dragoneers are such a creative group that I'm sure you'll be able to help.

The koala is supposed to be innocent and child-like and can be a boy or a girl. The VBS kids range in age from 5 - 11.

We've had a couple of ideas, but welcome more:
1) Sydney
2) Tucker (and have the koala be snacking constantly)
3) Matilda (as in "Waltzing")

Thanks for any help you can give!

For some reason the name Larry just jumped into my head - hmm Larry the Koala? it could work if you said it with an australian accent perhaps :P

Lumpur as in Koala Lumpur ;) (I know that's Singapore not Australia)

Mel short for Melbourne

Sorry not coming up with any real good ones.

Kelly Koala - either boy or girl

Kirby Koala - boy

Kira Koala - girl

Kathy Koala - girl

Kristopher Koala

otoh, I really like Matilda......

Carl

Wally Koala?

Nuala Koala?

Kenneth.

Bindi Sue
Sheila

(Matilda's a kangaroo).

Kenny Koala is a kid's puppet used for Police education.

Dropsy (as in Dropbear) is one I'd think of, but no one would get that unless they were Australian. It'd be totally lost on the kids.

Sydney, of course, makes sense, as does Mellie. Adelaide is also a girl's name. Wagga might be an interesting one (it's a town in NSW). Mollymook is another place.

I really like Melbourne as a name as readafewe up above me suggested.

Upon consideration, I like all of WillSteed's ideas. You could call the koala either Mel (male) or Mellie (female). Entirely versatile as these things go.

'Blinky' is worth consideration I think. 'Blinky Bill' (the koala) is a favourite character with Australian children. He's probably on YouTube.

Koolah is another Aboriginal word for koala and since children of that age group seem to think everything is "cool" I thought Koolah the Koala might do well. However, for those of us who live in Norman Lindsay country Blinky Bill will always be our favourite koala!!

Bear Dinkum. I have a book called that.

#9 Dropsy ... Australian. Or have read The Last Continent. That would probably still exclude the kiddiwinks.

#1 "Can be a boy or a girl"? How about Tireisias?

You're probably better off giving it a gender neutral name. Young girls can identify with characters of either gender, but many young boys are notoriously bad at allowing themselves feel a bond for female characters. I have never figured out why. Does anyone know if it's a culturally learned trait?

Wow - thanks for all the ideas. I'll take them to my other puppeteers and see what they think.

WillSteed - I didn't realize that Matilda was a kangaroo. Guess that one is out!

Again, thanks loads. I'll let you know what the koala's name turns out to be.

How about...

- Kato
- Canbeara
- Eucaly (YOOK-alee)
- Dropsy (Ahhh, I see others thought of that too!)
- Teddy

18> I was also trying to come with a eucalyptus-based name. Best I could muster was "Euky" (YOO-ky).

Krazy Keef, after the koala on Joseph's favourite TV show, Bear Behaving Badly.

Okay, he's too young for a favourite TV show but it's cute and not annoying like most kids TV, so I like it.

Or Woolly. I had a toy koala called Woolly.

Ohhh koalas have always been my favorite!!! (along with monkeys.)

I love all of Will's ideas. But I would call him Bob. Don't know why, but the name BOB is funny. Makes me giggle just saying it... :P

Ok, moving along now...

I know what you mean. My dog's name is Bob - and almost everyone laughs when we tell them that.

Thanks - it goes on the list. The puppeteers will be making their choice sometime this week. I'll let you know what they end up with.

21 - But what does the name Bob taste like?

23 - chicken.

Ahhh... cherry lollipop, actually. ;)

Same as the Spanish word for "fool" (bobo.)

Heh, I think that's why I find the name so silly...

How about Kiko or Kiki?

Whatever you decide, make it one which is easy to say. I've been a puppeteer and it's terrible to have a puppet named something awkward which doesn't roll off of the tongue. Hard enough to memorize the skit, but then to stumble over the main character's name is embarrassing.

#3 it is Malaysia.

Euky...we have this great stuff called Euky Bear Rub...smells like eucalyptus and is great to rub on the babies chest when they have colds!

Koalas sleep lots of the time too. They need to to digest the almost inedible leaves they eat, so maybe you could think of something along that line.

Or what about Kylie...Very Australian name is one of the aborignal languages word for boomerang. then you could bring in the Kylie Minogue angle and some of her music....there again....maybe not all of them will be suitable for that age...but good for singing with the kids. (trying to cover all angles)

What about 'Blue'?

Blue-gums are part of their diet...

#29 That made me think of "Koala Blue." That's a clothing line or something, right?

Blue is also a (used to be) common nickname for someone with blond hair.

#31 red hair Will!

#29 Koala blue was a clothing chain owned by Olivia Newton John (Aussie singer) and her friend.

32 - That too. I've definitely seen it for blonds, too.

Really. Must be a Canberra thing!

Well, VBS has decided to go with Sydney for the koala's name. That just seemed to fit the puppet we've got.

Now we're looking for some Australian slang. Nothing off color - remember, this is for Vacation Bible School - but enough that our koala can sound exotic to our American kids' ears.

Thanks folks! I really appreciate all the help.

It's a bit out of date now, but when I was growing up, when something was really good, we'd say "cool bananas". Example: "Are you coming to my party?" "Of course." "Cool bananas. I'll see you there."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_English_vocabulary has a good lot of links. Make sure you check the wiktionary links on the right hand side on the way down.

Simple things I think of are talking about bikkies (= cookies) and soft drink (= soda/pop), and calling people 'mate' (both genders). Oh, and instead of saying lots, say heaps, as in "There are heaps of you here today."

I'll see what else pops up.

I think your best source would be the movie "The Castle" or maybe Crocodile dundee

Gees, mate, wadda you reckon? Bobby dazzler or what. Stone the crows mate, I think it is a ripper idea.

It will need to have a real slow drawl too.

How realistic is/was Let Stalk Strine by "Afferbeck Lauder" -- if you can find a copy, that is?

38 - It's not too far off what my parents' generation spoke, perhaps, but it's quite dated, now.

Rhyming slang has certainly gone out of fashion but there are probably a couple of expressions that most Aussies would recognise but not necessarily use:

Joe Blake - snake
Billy lids - kids
Snags (sausages) with dead horse - tomato sauce
Al Capone - telephone

Here's a few expressions that the children in the bible group might enjoy hearing:

Ridgy didge - true or genuine
Dingbat - someone acting in a silly fashion
Ant's pants - someone/something clever
Pong - has a bad odour
Dummy spit - throwing a tantrum
Arvo - afternoon
Avagoodweegend - wishing someone a pleasant weekend

You mean, "throw a few shrimp on the barbee" isn't real Australian?

#41 We'd say "prawns" instead of "shrimp" and half a dozen wrapped in a little prosciutto and skewered before being brushed with garlic butter and tossed on the barbee is a favourite in my household :o)

Ridgey Didge! That's a blast from the past!

As for the others, spitting the dummy would probably go over well. I've always loved that imagery (no pun intended).

If you want the accent, some of us Aussies could record them and send them to you! :)

#43 No worries, mate.......she'll be apples (another blast from the past)

Commander Shelby

I just think that should be its name. :D

I have to ask..........why Commander Shelby?

Fair dinkum, if you want a stronger Australian flavour you could call him Road Kill the rogue koala. He will have to refer to every other character as Mate, 'cause he can't remember their names, usually in the manner of "G'day Mate". If he comes across as a bit of a fool you might call him a drongo. Strewth, I could go on forever but I wont, so, avagoodweegend.

#31 - #32

Ohhhh!! Now that explains a few things... Thanks!

#48
I'm going to have to chime in with nitnat and go 2-1 against Will. 'Blue' is a nickname for red heads, not blondes. So it's not a Canberra thing, it must be a Will thing...

As for Australianisms, we tend to say 'No worries' a lot (eg if someone says thank you, we'll respond with 'no worries' instead of 'you're welcome').

'Dunny' or 'loo' for the toilet (I'll let you decide if you can work that in appropriately)

'Bloke' means a man
'Sheila' means a woman (bloke is still common but sheila not so much these days)

'Arvo' for afternoon
'Brekkie' for breakfast
'Biccies' for biscuits (cookies)
'Ankle biter' or 'nipper' for small children (under 10ish)
'Dag' is a nerdy, unfashionable person (can be said rudely or affectionately)
'Furphy' is unreliable rumour/gossip or a tall tale (actually, I went to school with the great-granddaughter of the original Furphy that the slang term refers to)

I'm sure I'll think of more and add them in as they come to me.

Also, remember that the bird 'emu' is pronounced 'e-myu' not 'e-moo'. I didn't understand what they were talking about the first time an American asked me about 'emoos'.

#49 Must agree that it was only redheads at my school who were given the nickname "Blue" but it's a different case for redheads now. I just hope the kids being nicknamed "Ranga" feel as much affection towards orangutans as I do!!

So it's not just in England that redheads are considered the one remaining group that everyone can make fun of with impunity then? As the mother of two red-headed, much bullied children I don't know whether that's reassuring or depressing.

Booksloth, in Australia it's the national pastime to "take the mickey" out of everyone and in general there is no maliciousness involved, but I'm very sorry to hear that your children are bullied for whatever reason.

They're not now (both in 30s) but it seems to be pretty standard pastime to pick on redheads of all ages in this country.

Sorry - I've been AFK a while. I sure appreciate all the wonderful suggestions here. I'd take some of y'all up on the taped accent, but VBS starts next Sunday - so I don't think we'd have time.

I'll let y'all know how Sydney goes over. Again, thanks for all the help!

Actually, I heard the other day that the Harry Potter series was considered unrealistic, I mean, who ever heard of a red-head kid having two mates?

(See what I mean, I?)

As a redhead who got picked on alot through school, i gotta say i feel for ur sons booksloth! kids can be so cruel in any culture, especially if you are "differrent" in any way... & i think bernsad needs to put a sock in it...

Whoa, easy there Seanie, it's all good fun. In fact, my first wife was a red head.

sorry, there shd have been a :P at the end of that sentence, i was giggling as i typed it & wondering if "put a sock in it" is an aussie'ism or not :)

no wuzz, :P accepted, and yes, I think "put a sock in it" is an aussie'ism.

Hey, hey! I really didn't mean that comment about bullying to be taken quite so seriously! As I've already explained at length in a PM to lovely Imager, my kids (son and daughter, btw, Seanie) were more generally picked on than actually bullied - though I do see and hear of 'proper' bullying too - and they were pretty well equipped to deal with it. I feel deeply for Seanie and anyone else who has suffered any kind of bullying at school or out of it but I suspect the kind of 'picking on' my two recieved was the kind where a scrap breaks out and the other person has to think of something to say so they pick on the most obvious 'difference'. For all I know, my two may have responded by hitting out at the other person's weight or wooden leg, whatever was different about them.

My point was that red-headedness just seems to be the one thing that can now be joked about, particularly in the British media, with impunity and I do feel for kids still at school today who are getting the fallout from this. You only have to look at well-known redheads in this country (I mentioned particularly in my message to I, people like the Duchess of York, Mick Hucknall, Chris Evans, all of whom have many more annoying traits than the colour of their hair, yet all of whom seem to be dislike mainly for being 'ginger'). In this country nobody is allowed to even notice if someone is overweight (I feel okay about using that particular example because I'm not as sylphlike as I once was myself) but picking on their hair colour is fair game. I just feel that if the words 'black' or 'fat' were substituted for 'ginger' in these jokes, there would be an outcry. I certainly don't want to put words into Seanie's mouth but I wonder if it's such 'good fun' for him as it is for bernsad? My guess is that even if it doesn't actually pierce him to the heart, it's at the very least become a very old and boring joke.

And I always thought 'put a sock in it' was an English expression. I've used it all my life.

I've heard it here in Chicago. Seems to be universal; it must be needed everywhere.

And here I've always thought being a redhead was sort of a privilege granted to only a few.

Seriously, I've always wanted to have been born a redhead. I even dye my hair auburn (my natural color is a mousy brown.)

I think red hair is gorgeous.

The common stereotype in my area of the US is that a red-headed female is hot and a red-headed male is a dweeb. This is of course unfortunate, I hate any stereotyping, but that is what the lunkheads think.

I will never understand how redheads get a bad rap.

#65 - Nor I. Hopefully these kinds of judgmental trends are diminishing

#61 Booksloth - We seem to have gender confusion here, sorry bout calling your daughter a boy! & I'm actually female :) I didn't mean to make a big deal about it either, I was definately more "picked on" than "bullied" & once I finished school that all stopped. I guess my point was just that kids can be cruel in any culture & being a redhead made me an easy target, so I feel for others who have also been easy targets...

My husband is a redhead, and he says that while he got teased as a kid (mostly at the beach because he practically had to wear a burkah), there are also fetishists out there. He points them out to me when he notices them. When they spot all that orange hair, their eyes glaze over, it's adorable.

I just think attractiveness isn't limited to one hair/skin/eye color. Or gender, for that matter.

#65
Indeed! And THANK YOU!!!!!!! What gorgeous men!
(Incidentally, I think the redheaded boy in the Harry Potter films is much more adorable than the one who plays Harry Potter. Much more so now that they're all grown up. Ohh and the twin Weasley boys are cute, too!)

#68
I just think attractiveness isn't limited to one hair/skin/eye color. Or gender, for that matter.
Amen!

#69 Yeah, I totally get why Hermione goes for Ron. (btw, the Weasley twins are ginger only by virtue of hair dye, sorry.)

#67 Oops, sorry Seanie! It did cross my mind at one point that you might be female but then I dismissed the idea - silly me! You're all right, of course, redheads are gorgeous (and I do agree about Ron v Harry). Thanks for your support and I'm so sorry I've dragged the thread so badly off-topic. Now, about that poor nameless Koala . . . . maybe he should be called Rusty?

#70
Ohh I didn't know that. Shows how little I know about the HPverse. Heh... :P