KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians, meet Malaysia. Many netizens got excited when an American tourist named Malaysia visited her namesake country and gushed about her experiences.

Malaysia was featured in a TikTok video, where she revealed that she was on her first trip to the South-East Asian country and that she chose to visit it “because it’s my name”.

The 35-second video, which has been viewed more than 48,000 times, is part of a series called Pergi Mana Gogogo, in which tourists are asked about their travel experiences in Malaysia.

Malaysia said she did not have any expectations prior to visiting the country, but since her arrival, her experiences have been “blown out of the water”.

“So far, it’s been amazing, and the people here are so kind,” she said, adding: “The food is so good and the culture is so welcoming and inviting.”

One commentator asked about the story behind Malaysia’s unique name, to which the original poster of the video said Malaysia told them “it’s just a very common name”.

A commentator with the handle nurimaninaaa06 speculated that her parents gave her the name Malaysia due to their sweet memories associated with the country.

Many others were excited over Malaysia’s presence on Malaysian soil, with many warmly welcoming her to the country.

“Hi Miss Malaysia, welcome to Malaysia. I’m pretty sure Malaysia will love Malaysia very much bcoz Malaysians love Malaysia too,” said a commentator with the handle wellasek.

A commentator with the handle radio.active said: “Her own character already portrays Malaysia, (she) looks mixed, sweet, speaks politely and calmly.”

Some even shared they know of others with the name Malaysia.

“My friend’s aunt, who is from Sabah, is also named Malaysia,” said a commentator with the handle Skone Vinz @ Seeds0fChange.

Malaysia is not the only country people are named for. Ireland, America, India, Jordan, Georgia and Chad have all been used as names.

Since 2011, the name Malaysia has consistently been among the top 1,000 most popular names for baby girls in US, according to the US social security website.

In 2023, the name Malaysia is ranked 776 in terms of popularity. - The Straits Times/ANN

https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2024/07/05/malaysians-excited-over-us-tourist-named-malaysia