Naming a kid: Study sheds light on the factors that are roped in to name a child

In Khosla ka Ghosla movie when Chiraunjilal decided to change his name after being ridiculed by the passport agent Asif Iqbal, it brought to discussion the problem of most of the Indian families which is mostly eclipsed by traditions, wills of grandparents and rich legacy of the family. Chiraunjilal aka Cherry was named by his grandmother and his father, played by Anupam Kher, gets furious when he hears about changing it. “It is a good name, but the name does not sound like that of an IT engineer,” argues Cherry.

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A similar discussion is seen in the movie Mr and Mrs Iyer when Meenakshi Iyer played by Konkona Sen Sharma says her infant son's name is Santhanam, another name of Lord Vishnu. To this, Raja Chowdhury, her co-passenger and 'Mr Iyer', replies "isn't it too old for a child's name? Why don't you call him Santa at home" Meenakshi gives a guilty laugh and says "my in-laws are very traditional. So he is Santhanam both at home and outside."

So, it's never ‘What’s in a name?” for Indian parents. The name of the child is the title of the dream which parents see. The name is not just a name, it carries the family’s legacy, the tradition, the religion, the gender and also sometimes the title of the family.

Top baby names in England have been released recently. Noah and Olivia were the common names of baby boys and girls in 2021. Noah was the 4th most popular boys name in 2020 and has risen 15 places in the past ten years since 2011. Olivia has now been the most popular girls' name for six consecutive years.

Oliver, George, Arthur and Muhammad are among the top five names of boys in England while Amelia, Isla, Ava and Ivy are in the top 5 spots among girls' names.

The report talks about several factors, interests and likings that are taken into account while naming kids in the UK.

In India, also several factors and people are taken into account to decide the name of a child. Just like the decision of bringing a child to the family is mostly pressurised by the elders, the name of the child is also a grand family affair and not just limited to the parents.

As is seen in this new report from England and also in our country, the naming of a kid is mostly done with a cultural point of view.

The faith the family follows coupled with religion are mostly taken into account when deciding the names of babies.

In many families, the significance of the day is also put in the name. A son born in Janmastami is most likely to be called Krishna, if not by all, but at least one member in the family will definitely pitch in the idea of naming him Krishna. Likewise, male babies born in Ram Navami are mostly preferred to be called Raghav.

You can also find our top leaders, politicians, and celebrities having traditional names.

These days parents are seen churning their brains, hunting for unique names for their kids.

Names like Anika, Anahita, Amvi, which are some of the variants of the names of Hindu goddesses are seen being given to daughters. Parents are also driven by the names of celeb kids like Inaaya, Myra, Jaanvi, and Samaira which also have significance in other religions.

The race of naming kids is so passionately followed that parents put in lots of research into it. Traditional names which have never been heard of before are being used these days.

Very few parents choose to name their kids in a gender neutral manner. In the UK study it is also seen that many parents give their kids a sex-specific name.

Shashi is a gender neutral name so is Luck or Bobby.

But when it comes to giving an official name to a child, parents mostly take gender into consideration. Lucky at home is Kajal in school or Bobby at home is Deepjyoti in school.

A gender neutral name can be okay within the household. But when the name is represented in society it needs to be authoritative. Factors like bullying, teasing, catcalling are taken into account and gender neutral names are avoided.

A great disparity is seen between the names of boys and girls.

As per a report by The Conversation, "research suggests that forenames for boys are seen as signaling ethnic credentials or heritage more often than those for girls do. This finding helps explain why the boys’ name Muhammad ranks fifth in the top names given to boys in England and Wales in 2021." The report sheds light on the fact that despite awareness around gender equality the value of boys are considered to be more than that of girls and their names are mostly culturally inclined.

Though in India cultural inclination is seen in the names of both boys and girls, traditions related to name and name changing mostly center around girls. In India, even to this date, in many places the name of a girl is changed after her wedding. The girl is expected to take the new name given by her in-laws. Though the prevalence of this practice has reduced to a large extent, due to legality and paperworks, the practice is still carried out at several places.

Very often we recognise the gender, religion and sometimes regionality of individuals from just a name. A name can also tell us about the generation to which a person belongs. A name can tell us whether or not we can get success in life; several celebrities change the alphabets of their names to be successful.

The participation of naming kids is a worldwide practice. Every community has its own way to name kids. The onus of giving a good name to a kid, that ensures success, longevity and happiness for it, has always been a dream of the family and will continue to remain so.