Baby names have almost gone through a revolution. People are more adaptive and name their newborns with names that are unique. The trend is also going towards a global nature wherein the name does not belong to the culture or typicality’s of the custom. The earlier names seemed very much Indian but here the trend is seen to go in for very authentic names in Sanskrit or on the other hand the name has no cultural influence.
A name like Mira seems very Hindu like but also has an Italian connection. There is a typical case of Catholics retaining their origins with names like Dinesh, Arun, Sheela or Madhavi. The old names are also seen coming again with Vaishali, Sharwari or Sandhya. There is a mixture of simple names like Asha, Parul or Vignesh which seems juxtaposed with common modern names like Adarsh, Shlok or Saahil.
Numerology also believes that names affect a person’s personality or luck factor. Hence one often finds a not-so-correct spelling associated with a name. The common addition of alphabets like e/i/a so that the numbers associated with the alphabets adds up to a favorable summation suiting the psychic number or destiny number which is an aspect of numerology.
Naming a child is a great occasion or festivity in the household. The Hindus prefer to name the child on the 11th day from the birth of the child but actually it depends on each family. The presence of elders and relatives is important in India to bless the child and also repeat the name in acceptance. This is a revered tradition though each family or caste has a different culture or ritual in doing the same.
Pet names in India are another feature. Though the trend is seen in retaining the original name to maintain respect there are home-names that are very Indian like Chotu, Chutki, Kuki, Batuk, Raju and many others. The original name is also used in concise form like Kamakshi becomes Maxi or a Venkatesh is Venky to render it a modern effect.
Soundarya or Aishwarya is a typical Southie name, Jigisha or Bhavisha sounds from Gujarat, Shomu or Nayonika is Bengali or Vinayak or Balchandra is from Maharashtra. But as for now there are no restrictions as Nabha belongs to South India and Divya is seen in the North East.
