A woman from Florida attracted strong criticism online after she described the Indian name Akshit as offensive in a post on Threads, the social media platform owned by Meta. The incident began when she uploaded a screenshot of a conversation with an Expedia customer service representative whose name was displayed as Akshit.
Encircling the name in the screenshot, she wrote: “Are they just messing with us at this point? How can you say that name without being offensive?”
The post, shared a day earlier, quickly spread across the platform and provoked extensive debate. Many users accused her of ignorance and cultural insensitivity, noting that Akshit is a widely used Indian name with deep significance. In Hindi, the name means “imperishable” or “indestructible.”
One user wrote: “I hope you’re using Expedia to get out and learn something outside your American suburban bubble.” Another commented: “This is what happens when you’re not well-read or well-versed in other languages, etc. ‘Akshit’ means ‘imperishable, indestructible, unbroken, eternal’. Much more significant than Lucy.”
Several users accused the woman of racism, while others attempted to explain the cultural context. A comment read: “Average MAGA lady realising there are other countries too.” Another advised her directly to “Get an education.”
Others highlighted that languages evolve independently of English. One remarked: “Worked with a guy named Ishit. Strangely enough, other languages don’t take English words and phonemes into account when designing their own.” Another observed: “English isn’t the only major language.”
While some suggested that the post was designed to provoke engagement, the majority of responses defended the name and criticised attempts to mock it based solely on how it sounds in English.
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