Names for Babies
TRANSCEND MEMBERS, 18 Mar 2024
Dr. Ravi P. Bhatia – TRANSCEND Media Service
I wish to inform that I am offering you in this list many names that can be given to new born babies. The names are both for female as well as male babies. The names are suitable for babies in India. Hindu babies in different countries would have other parameters — cultural and ethnic suitable for those countries and consequently the names I am suggesting may not be appropriate for Hindu children born in those countries .
But I must again admit that these names are those for Hindu babies. This is not because I have any prejudice for other newborns — Muslim or Christian or any others. It is simply because of my ignorance. I do not have the knowledge to suggest names for babies of other religions.
To start with, I am suggesting some usual names for girls who are born in spiritual and deeply religious families. These names often occur in Hindu religious families — Sita, Radha, Gayatri, Durga. As we know Sita is the wife of the Hindu God Ram and Radha occurs when we talk of Lord Krishna. Durga is a woman of vitality and strength and destroys evil. Gayatri is a name associated for learning and intelligence and also with prosperity and success.
There are many other names that may be given to newborn children depending on when they were born and whether they are first born children of the concerned family.
Along with the female names of daughters of religious families, familiar names of male babies (not necessarily religious) linked to our environment are : Badal, Akash, Prakash, Ravi , Suraj, Tara etc.
Many other common names that male children may be given are : Vinod, Arjun, Dewakar, Vijay, Raja, Chandra, Murli, Manoj, Roshan, Dharma, Ratan, Rahul, Raja, Kishore, Shekhar, Inder, Apoorva, Gurucharan, Sachin, Vikram and several others . These names are associated with the families of the children and with the advice given by the religious person invited especially for the name giving ceremony,
There are several common female names that girls are given by their families. These are Amba, Ambika, Champa, Deepa, Deepti, Kanta, Khushboo, Roshni, Mamta, Gayatri, Kaushalya, Pooja, Smriti, Sumitra, Sunita, Tina and others. Some girls are also given those names which are more appropriate for male children — Vinod, Shashi.
Then we have many names of boys that sound poetically similar : Dinesh, Hitesh, Mahesh, Mukesh, Suresh, Umesh, Yogesh, Brijesh and some others.
Many rich families invite a religious person — Sadhu or monk to provide names of their newborn male children. The Sadhu looks up some religious papers and asks the parents of the newborn some other relevant details of the baby — when the baby was born, how many brothers or sisters does he have. He then suggests some suitable names from which the parents pick up a name that they feel will stand well with the baby when he grows up.
The naming ceremony of the baby is often celebrated by the family which is financially well off. They usually celebrate the occasion by having a party to which a Sadhu and some relatives of the family and friends are invited. Delicious food is served along with some enjoyable music.
Thus we see that the baby name giving occasion is a happy occasion for the family. It is celebrated with delicious food and music.
May the baby enjoy good fortune .
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Dr Ravi P Bhatia is a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment, an educationist, Gandhian scholar and peace researcher. Retired professor, Delhi University. His new book, A Garland of Ideas—Gandhian, Religious, Educational, Environmental was published recently in Delhi. ravipbhatia@gmail.com
This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 18 Mar 2024.
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