Indian Names

Children are special to the entire family. Name is a treasure forever to stay and goes with your personality. It is one’s identity and obtains an unique stature. There are many styles in writing a name. Some prefer the first name, some include initials or others prefer the name and surname method.

Naamkaran or the naming ceremony in India is quite a time in every religion. Specific rituals are conducted for the same and blessings are given by elders. Name gives a distinction to a person hence naming your new born is a task. Most Hindu names are based on the raashi present in the birth horoscope. This gives the alphabet to be named. The trend is to have a name in Indian likes or Sanskrit meanings.

In cases where people need to name their offspring’s with a traditional family name, this becomes the raashi name whereas for official purpose another name is used. Venkitachalam becomes quite a mouthful by todays trend and this could be the traditional name where for official purpose the child could have a recent name like Aman or Arin.
Godly names revolve mostly on Ganesh and Lakshmi.

In earlier times it was a tradition to keep names of Gods and Goddesses for new borns so that calling the child automatically results in chanting the name of God. These include Rameshwar, Venkatesh, Mahalakshmi, Ganesh, Saraswathy and also Chatturbhuj. This traditional is getting replaced with modern names starting with ‘A’ as this is believed in numerology as a leader. Aarav, Aarambh, Apoorva, Ansh, Ahsaas, Arth, Anamika, Ananya, Ashitha, Amishi, Atharva, Agastya, Arya are a few examples.

It is quite common in India to be fascinated by leading celebrities and keep the names of babies in a similar fashion. Sachin was a rage at the peak of the career of Sachin Tendulkar. Hrithik is very common now. Aishwarya is popular alongwith Sushmita. Other common names of celebrities include Saanya, Karishma, Raveena, Deepika, Abhishek and also Bipasha.

Foreign names arrive with anglo Indian culture or when one spouse is a foreigner. It is common name as Nick Patel, Natalia Godse or Kane Raghavan.

Muslim names are beautiful too like Heena for mehndi, Raahat for relief, Aalam for world and Abaan for clear. Urdu meanings are easily adopted in Hindu homes.

Naming the child by virtue is also a trend with Saachi for truth, Siddhant for principle, Aazim for determination, Nishta for will power, Suyash for success, Suhana for pleasant and Lochan meaning eyes.

Of late, more people are interested in naming their children with unique and uncommon names. The idea is to create a niche name for the child.

Names with meanings are essential as they are often the virtue or related to a particular diety. Sanskrit names are getting common with Sambhit, Sahasra and Shlok.

Many times parents propitiate their family God or Goddesses to bless them with an offspring and hence name the child accordingly.

If Durga is the name you wish to name your child they one can find variants in the same name with Rakshika, Saukyada, Nitya, Mati and Siddhi.

Nysa means glow and has Greek traces.
Prishti means a ray of light.
Pratham stands for first.
Vedha stand for the scriptures.
Piya and Meet refer to a beloved.
Mana refers to the mind.
Nasah means an advisor.
Megha means cloud.
Yuvraj is the prince.
Kali means flower.
Anuraag means love and so does Pranay.
Naqeeb means a lawyer and Nardia means fragrant
Ishaan refers to God,
Rateesh is the consort of Rati and the God of love,
Aman means peace, Pranali means scroll,
Tanisha means born on a Monday,
Dilasa means relief,
Arth refers to meaning,
Agastya stands for a sage in mythology,
Shriya and Sahana mean Goddess Lakshmi,
Sampada refers to wealth,
Maanav means human,
Maanyata means belief.

Modern Christian names also refer to Raul, Loraine, Caleb, Carissa, Merlyn and Melroy , Ciar, Ross, Rossa and Torna.
Parsi names are always unique and the pronunciation has to be right with Daanish, Hutokshi, Howavee, Jamshed, Behramkamdin, Perizaad, Zaha, Tiz, Adarbad,Arash, and Arasti.

Buddhist names are interesting too with Anantavikrama, Bodhi, Bahuksana, Candavira, Harsula and Sakyamuni.
‘A’ names are believed to bring fortune as per numerology as it denotes number one, Aabha means light, Aakar is shape, Aadesh means command, Adhunik is modern, Aadi means modern, Adri is rock, Aarambh means start, Aman for peace, Anumaan for assumption, Acharya for teacher, Anali means fiery and Aadi emans first.
Anishka, Abhaya, Kantika, Prafulla, Loukik, Anokhi, Indramani, Geetika, Aayushi, Aayush, Arya, Dwitika are some more modern names. Vachan, Bhavya, Manas, Manasi, Nischay, Kaavya, Dhristi, Dhwani, Ananya are also uncommon.

Naming times are filled with fun and gesticulation. There are song and dance happenings with elders giving their choicest blessing to the new born. This is festive time, the time of the birth denotes the nakshatra and raashi of the child and the name is normally kept on those indications. It is a trend to now give the child, modern yet meaningful names.

The birth of the baby boy is often related with Lord Krishna. The naughtiness and the boyish cherubic appeal of Krishna is now capture in names like Anish, Darsh, Bankim, Manhar, Nathan and Saket.
Vasav and Yatin refer to Lord Indra, who is the Devesh (King) of all Gods.

Indians who have allegiance to Lord Shiva often name their offspirngs with the variants of Shiva like Shivil, Mahesh, Lavitra, Dakshesh and Arha.

The innocence and power of Lord Ganesh is captured in modern listings like Ibhanan and Kshipra.
Vishnu is also known as Ijay and Samarjit, Inesh and Ish.
Avi means Sun and Yamir is Moon.
The above names are representing Gods and yet not clichéd in the typical common selections.
Names like Mahesh, Raj, Pushpak, Ramchandra, Krishna, Ganpathy, Hrishikesh, Dilip, Kumar, Viral are not common any more and are replaced with better sounding names that are unique and render meaning.
‘A’ names are Arin, Akshaya, Akriti, Aman, Adhibaan, Adhithan and Armaan.
In the Sikh tradition it is highly difficult to bifurcate a girl name from a boy. The mentioning of Singh for boy and Kaur for girl becomes essential with each name. Harbhajan, Harmeet, Prableen, Pratap, Rajinder, Kuljeet, Karminder, Harmann, Mandeep, Manmeet are few examples here.
Niket means home,
Nikhat means fragrance,
Nischal is pure and Nautou is new.
Ekram means honour,
Parashar means ancient,
Param means the best,
Pradyot is luster and Pulak is joy.
Fateh is victory and Fatik is crystal.
Gagan is sky and Girik stands for Shiva.
Quamar means the moon and Iman is music.
Ihit is prize and Isar is Shivar.
Kanwal means lotus and Khajit is for Buddha.
Kshaunish is king and Kinshuk is a flower.
Saahas stands for bravery and Samarth means powerful.
Sanket is signal and Sashreek is prosperous.
Uttiya is Buddhist literature,
Udyam is effort.
Wali is protector.
Mitul means friend and Moulik is valuable.
Tamal is a tree and Tallen is absorbed.
Yasaar means wealth,
Yajat is Shiva,
Yuyutsu is a warrior.

One can also see come back names from not much olden times like Avinash, Aaditya, Adit, Prakash, Agastya, Jaywant and Mangesh.

It is a tradition in India to follow an elaborate naming ceremony ritual while naming the child. This is conducted in different periods and under different cultures followed by the family. What is important is that the child is blessed well and gets an identity as a name for life.

Many communities necessitate the change of name after marriage. Slowly this is getting lesser as for official reasons and legal purpose ladies are choosing to retain their maiden name. In certain cases, girls prefer to keep their original surname or Niveditta Bist Patel is a classic example of double surname. This is a personal choice and also done to save legal ordeals while inheriting property or joint account status. It is common that after marriage Nila becomes Raveena, Jalpa becomes Muskaan and Rati becomes Riddhima.

It was tradition earlier down south to name the girl child after the deities worshipped there. Meenakshi, Vishalakshi, Rambha, Parvathy, Saraswathy are certain examples.

The spelling here is also to be noted as in the north the name would go as Parvathi or Saraswathi.
Abigail means father rejoices,
Aishani is Durga,
Adrienne is the dark one,
Alicia is truthful,
Amla stands for being pure,
Anumati means consent,
It is also typical to name the child after the nakshatra in his natal chart or horoscope, Ashleka, Makha, Kaushika are certain examples.
Saanika means flute,
Mekhla stands for waist band,
Bindi means the dot adorning the forehead,
Shruti means a musical instrument,
Veena is the instrument played by Goddess Saraswati,
Bela means a creeper,
Khusboo and Mahek means fragrance,
Muskaan means smile,
Ehsaas means feeling,
Prasanna means happy,
Angarika is a flower,
Arpita means offering,
Bipasha is a river,
Farha means happiness,
Jiah means heart.
Name of Goddesses are common like Dhatri, Hema, Hemlata, Uma stands for Parvathy, Goddess Saraswati is known as Bharati, Vani.
Goddess Durga is known as Bhagwati, Dakshayani, Deveshi, Ekaa, The Goddess of wealth Lakshmi has variants in Shriya and Amrita.
Unique names include Dayita for beloved,
Tisya for auspicious,
Tiya for a bird,
Urmi for wave,
Ushma for warmth,
Vanini for soft spoken,
Toya for water,
Dory for golden hair,
Yochana for thought,
Venya for lovable,
Ritika is a stream,
Rewa is a star and Ruhi is a soul.

Baby naming ceremony are auspicious happenings. All religions and caste this feat with lot of happiness. Name is a life time thing and hence there is much excitement and showering of blessings on the baby.

The Naam Karan festival by Hindus or the naming ceremony is done with much élan and showbiz. The child is bathed freshly and adorned with gold and silver jewelry. A neat assortment of flowers, vermilion and sweets along with the Aarti is arranged in a decorative plate. The child is seated in the mother’s lap and the Aarti ritual is conducted. The tilak is placed on the forehead of the child. The child’s name is mostly whispered in the ear by the fathers sister and then by the entire family. The child is put in the cradle and with rhyming verses and traditional songs, the name of the child is repeated for effect. Blessings are bestowed as Aashirwad and also gifts are showered with the tradition of bringing good luck to the child.

The ceremony is held at home or in a temple. In case the home is inconvenient to host so many relatives and friends an ideal hall is booked to conduct the ritual. Certain communities conduct this feat on the 11th day of the baby. In Kerala it is done after 28 days and others prefer after 3 months. In certain castes, a huge cloth is held instead of the baby cradle and the four sisters of the father of the child swing it in motion. All relatives sing traditional songs and chant rhymes telling the child’s name.

In the Maharashtrian tradition, the child’s aunt whispers the name in the child’s ear and later says it aloud. The child is kept in the cradle and a grinding stone (small) is rounded over the cradle for five times. The cradle is beautifully decorated and diya or lamps are made of wheat flour moulds.

In Kerala the tradition is similar though having a havan or a Hom where the holy fire is lit is considered necessary. A huge feast follows alongwith singing. It is essential to present the fathers sister( name giver) with a suitable gift.

As per tradition, it is essential to name the child with easy names to be pronounced without mistakes. The nakshatra and raashi are considered. Believers in numerology are careful with the spelling of the name. Some prefer their family deities name or certain families carry on the names of their forefathers.

Catholics name the child and seek blessing of all in the Church. This is refereed as Baptism where the child is given a ritual tub bath by the priest and clothed in white garment. Generally the choice is exercised by the parents, most Catholic names are chosen after saints or refer to patrons. Most names are unique and contain foreign influences. This is also the best time to consider God parents for your baby which is a major decision.