Whats In a Name?

Abhijit Bhaduri
20 January 2013, 07:04 PM IST

This is a true story. I was interviewing several candidates for a role. It was the end of a long day. This girl walked in and handed me her resume. I blinked twice when I saw her name. She was obviously used to the reaction. Her expression was that of a season actor who was repeating the lines she had rehearsed a hundred times before.

"Yes my name is indeed Rouble."
"Is your brother called Dollar?" I tried to be funny.
"No that's my sister. My brother is called Franc."

Rouble is probably the most unusual name I have come across. There are many things that people could be named after in India. I categorized the names of people I know or have heard of, based on the meaning ofthe name in Hindi or Bengali - the two languages I know. There are names that are specific to a religion or based on a historical character of the region. I have not added those to this list.

There are differences in the naming ceremony and approach in every one of the states in India. Every family has its own version of the naming ceremony. Some families have a first name and a middle name. Some regions will have the name of an ancestor as the middle name or even the first name. In some cases the names are repeated and the person's uniqueness is demarcated by a numeral (eg Benedict the XIV). Those who believe in numerology will spell the same name with and without a certain alphabet to achieve the magic number that will bring them good luck.

People are named after role models. India has a large number of children named Sachin after Sachin Tendulkar. The actor of yester years Pran was famous for the villainous characters he portrayed on screen in the sixties and seventies. Not too many people chose to name their children Pran such was his impact. Some names are not specific to a gender eg Kiran or Sunny (think Deol and Leone). Most names also have gender associations. I always associated the name Jodie as female because the actor Jodie Foster until I met a male colleague who was called Jody. There goes the rule. Countries have their own rituals and rules around names.

Here are names of people I know or know of. The categories are based on the literal meaning. Some of these names also have religious and historical significance. I have not refered to those.

- Clothing and Jewellery: Aanchal, Payal, Kangna
- Gods, Apostles and Sages: Murugesh, Venkat, Ram, Mohammad, Jesus, Valmiki, Agastya
- Planets, Nakshatras: Varun, Ravi, Rohini, Vishakha, Swati
- Time of day: Usha, Sandhya
- Season: Hemant, Varsha
- Elements: Vayu, Vyom, Anal
- Rivers Ganga, Kaveri
- Metal and precious stones: Sona, Rupa, Kanchan, Heera, Panna
- Taste: Mithi, Madhu (sweet is the preferred taste clearly)
- Birth order: Anuj, Divij
- Raga: Sohini, Purvi, Kedar
- Instrument- Veena, Bansi
- Bird, fish or flower: Hansa, Meena, Kamal
- Feeling: Khushi, Anand, Mohit

- Thought: Vichaar, Chintan
- Verdict: Nirdosh, Vijaya
- Size: Chhotu, Vishal
- Color: Gora, Kaala, Gulabi
- Designation : Karnail, Jarnail, Kaptan
- Country: Bharat, even foreign countries Jarman (German), Cheena (China)
- Pilgrimage Spots: Kashi, Kedar, Badri
- Quality: Vinaya, Praveen, Akshay, Veer, Pritam, Sushant
- Mythological characters: Karan, Arjun, Urvashi

How were you named? What are the categories I have missed? Which category do you think has the most names? What is the most unusual name of a person you have come across.