Evolution of the Indian names
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Sadhna, Chaya, Gopal are no more. The children's names are now Apsari, Amaira, Ryan and Manijinjir...! What goes on in the Sapnamay Chakravartinam fuss about the history-geography of the naming.
The image that comes to mind when you listen to Sulina Pal, you don't get that image when you listen to Vishwanath Mahato.
If I give you two names you will say Sulina Pal is a twenty-five year old Independent working woman in a big city,who lives her life freely and Vishwanath Mahato is a forty plus man who works in small or medium business or as a clerk, tailor or grocer who lives in a village or small town.
You won't find Lambodar Guchhait or Madnananda Modak among the residents of Meghmallar or Mandevilla Gardens or Silver Spring.
Again, it is difficult to find any Kitty Bose or Pretty Bhos in Sandeshkhali.
Malti, Sulekha, Sonoka, Chhaya, Sandhya can still be found among female students in Bira Vallabhapara Shantipipasa Balika Vidyalaya group school, but these names have since disappeared from the register of Loreto-Pathabhavan-South Point.
Bamacharan, Haridas, Nanigopal, Sudhamoyi, Kamalasundari - these names seem to be more than seventy years old.
No filmmaker would name a female character in her seventies Mona Lisa or Tanya.
If the movie is set in this period, the young characters will be named Arnav, Kabir, Ariyan, Ayaan, Aditya, Siddharth, Ziya, Kiara….
If Gajanan, understand the comic character.
Again, Premkant, Omprakash, Rajkishore, Sohanlal - just by hearing the names, you can understand that they speak in Hindi.
Bengali personal names have a class character next to them. People are guessed by name - especially Hindus.
But in the case of Christians, a person cannot be guessed by hearing a name. Anthony, Charles or John could be singers, tanners or scientists. The same is true for Muslims. Abdul, Mohammad or Rahmat can be any age, five or eighty.
Although Bengali, Sanskrit names are also in use among Bengali Muslims but they are mostly limited to nicknames. In some cases, official names are also in Bengali-Sanskrit. However, Arabic names are in most cases. Persian or Turkish names are also popular.
The author has a lot of problems in naming the characters. The name of the farm laborer cannot be Suslat. Again Ramcharan or Dukhiram also becomes very cliche.
The names of the zamindars were Jayantanarayan, Durlavkumar and so on. Now there are no zamindars, there are various kinds of powerful people. Earlier the character names of loafers and gangsters were Jaga, Dedo, Boulton.... Politicians used them. Now these are the political leaders and powerful. The OC of the police station can easily put his hands on the collar.
As a result, the names of political leaders no longer have to be named. Dedobabu, Bukaibabu, Tara Bablu or Bente Hablu will go away. IAS officers or chartered accounts cannot be lokhai.
Many times I tried to understand the evolution of personal names by looking at genealogy.
four or five generation ago Madanamohan, Gadadhar, Vasudev etc. names were available three Generation ago besides Amal Bimal Kamal and the exceptional name Indrajit.
And now searching for extraordinary names in the dictionary, Nitara, Sashrik, Anabil, Ileana, Adrian, Bihan, Arav, Adrija etc. are being named.
Tusu, Bihu, Mahul - all these names are given not because of tribal love, but because no one has named them yet. Even if Mahua named it, no one kept Hariya.
If we go back another four hundred years, we will see that gods and goddesses were not named after them.
Where are the names of gods and goddesses found in our medieval literature?
Behula, Sanaka, Khullana, Lahna, Ranjavati, Kokila, Aduna, Paduna, Chandu, Lakhinder, Srimanta, Kalketu, Lausen, Karnasena, Bhandudatta — many more examples can be found.
Even in ancient India there was no practice of naming people after gods and goddesses, although the gods and goddesses changed time and again. Vishnu-Mahadeva, Lakshmi took the place of those ancient Indra-Varun-Agni-Ashwinikumars.
After that, how many more gods and goddesses came and went, but they were none in the name of humans.
See the names of ancient kings— Bindusara, Ashoka, Samudragupta, Chandragupta, Vikramaditya, Harshavardhana, Shashanka, Dharmapala, Devapala, Ballalasena, Lakshmanasena etc.
Our poet-literary dramatists from the earliest to the 13th century are Valmiki, Vyasadeva, Bhasa, Bhavabhuti, Dandi, Bharatrihari, Visakha Datta, Bhattanarayana, Kshemishvara, Abhinanda, Kalidasa etc. (I have a doubt about the origin of the name Kalidasa. Does this name mean slave of Kali ?Was the concept of kali very common in that society?Or the slave of blackness?).
The ancient characters are Dhritarashtra, Arjuna, Dasharatha, Sumitra, Kaushalya, Draupadi etc.
But even in ancient India there was class distinction in nomenclature royals and noble s had one type of name, while servant-maids, normal people had another type of name.
Malvika, Iravati, Gautami, Anusuya, Shakuntala, Priyambada are nobles. Princess, minister's daughter or sage's daughter. Chaturika, Nipunika, Madhurika, Paravritika, these are the attendant class. Again Januk,Shudrak, Shamvuk - these belong to the attendant class.
Later in Manusamhita it was found that the name of Brahmin would be Mangalbachak, Kshatriya Balbachak, Vaishya Dhanbachak, Shudra Hinatabachak.
Sharma at the end of the Brahmin name. As Vidyasagar used to write Ishwarchandra Sharma. At the end of the Kshatriya's name is Varma - which is a protective term. Like Vajra Varma. Bhuti with Vaishya names, namely Vasubhuti or Bhavabhuti (playwright). Servant in Shudra name. such as Dindas.
But the names of Ramayana Mahabharata are not Manu smriti style. Manu from later generation. The phonetics or jingle of the names of the two epics is oriented towards the image of the characters. The queen, whose name is Kaikeyi, gives bad advice. It sounds hoarse. Note that later one named his daughter Kaushalya, Sumitra, Subhadra all, but not Kaikeyi.
See, no Asura's is named Paramita, Anushila, Uttara; Hidimba is. Note the buzzer. Shurpankha, Putna, Chinna, Chitkrita etc.
The Shudra who was murdered for the crime of Vedapatha, his name is Shamvuk, meaning snail. The names of Asuras were Chandasur, Mundasur, Bakasura, Mahisasur and the kings were called Dayashur, Vidyashur.
Visit Thirty-two Singhasana, Panchatantra, Betal, naming according to image and category. Getting the names of Brahmins - Yajnasharma, Mitrasharma, Vishnusharma etc. Commanders Balabhadravarma, Chandravarma…. King Gandharvasena, Chandrabhanu, Harishchandra, Chandrapira.... Queen and Princess Padmavati, Sulochana, Bhanumati.... Names of merchants- Manibhadra, Dhanapati, Sagardatta, Hiranyadatta.... Common people- Baman, Andhak, Chapalak, Kshemankar, Jaldas….
It is in this sequence that Bankimchandra named his characters. Names of girls in upper house- Rajni, Rohini, Kundanandini, Shaivalini, Hiranmayi, Suryamukhi, Bhramar.... And the names of the maids-napitani-kuttani- Harani, Haridasi, Hira, Kshiroda, Rami, Bami, Pramada, Madhu...
Why don't you look at Rabindranath, the boy who steals the duck and hides it under his clothes, his name is Haradhan, and the one who passes MA and comes to the village, his name is Chaturbhuj. The name of the house servant is Raicharan or Kesta.
Renaming of Rabindra's characters has been going on since the First World War. Early character-names were Tinkori, Harimati, Bihari, Kshemankari, Kedar, Bardasundari, Drakshayani, Harasundari, Haripada, Anangasundari etc.
Looking at the story on Ravibar ,the hero of the story Abhaycharan Pitridatta changed his name to Abhik kumar. Sushmi is the wife of Ravibar's story. Chorai Dhane character Sunetra, Ruchira in repeated stories, Ella in Char Addhay ,Suriti in Pragatisinghare.... Rabindranath used to name the heroes and heroines keeping an eye on the era.
Had Rabindranath been alive today, his characters would have been named Ribhu, Ork, Irin, Trina, Arha, Raila, Romo.
Romo is shorten from of Raiman.like Vikram's Shorter from Vick of the nineties. English medium children call Ranbir as Ron. Vidyarnav becomes Vib or Vin. The nomenclature changes over time.
Names also have a sociology. Don't look at this, as many Swaraj and Swadhin people there are or were, all of them were born between 1940 and 1970. There was a writer named Swaraj Bandyopadhyay, his novels were very popular at one time.
All Biplab, Kranti, Swadhin,Swaraj, Sangram were born between 1940 and 1970. Now no one is naming children Swadhin, Swaraj, Biplab, Kranti, Sangram.
Indira name were popular during Indira Gandhi popularity time's.
After independence, the people of the country saw a new dream. Due to the partition of the country, many refugees came, but no one in the colony family was named Bastuhara or refugee. Many Swapans were born in refugee Slums. Many such Swapans are established in the society now. Ever since the Quit India Movement, Swapans have been growing in Bengali middle-class homes.
In 1944-45 also two or four Swapans were born. I know one person, Professor Swapan Majumder. He is the oldest Swapan I know. Earlier, Bengali children were not named Swapan. 'Swapanburo' is a pseudonym. Real name Akhil Niyogi.
After independence people saw Five Year Plan, DVC, Durgapur, Kalyani, Employment Exchange. Dreams are created in the naming of children. Swapan era ended from 1980-85.
According to the trickle-down theory, the names and dreams also entered from the middle class to the lower class families. Shamshan Swapan, Tara Swapan, Handcut Swapan also became famous in their own field, now all these houses are not named Swapan.
After the demolition of the Babri Masjid, some newborns were named Sampriti. Again after two thousand years many 'saurav' were born.
After Sushmita Sen became Miss World, many Sushmita names were given viz. Again in the 1990s the popularity of Aishwarya Rai in PepsiCo ads spawned hundreds of Aishwaryas and Sanjanas.
And the whole nineties were Rahul, Raj, Rohan, Rohit, Pooja, Priyanka, Neha, Anshu, Tina, Anjali and Simran. All Bollywood influenced names.
As I said earlier, there was no custom of naming after gods and goddesses. By the end of the fifteenth century, a Vaishnavism movement was taking place all over India. Krishna concept spread in Bengal.
It is from the idea that it is good to pronounce the name Krishna that it is better to name the child with various Krishna-speaking names. Murari, Banshidhari, Govinda.
Then the believers in Shaiva and Shakta concepts also started naming Bhola, Tarak, Tara, Durga.
This time the issue of expressing Vaishnavism modesty also started to be mentioned. Not just Govinda, Govindas. Thus Krishnapada, Kalipada, Haridas, Ramprasad, Harisevaka, Kalikingkara, Sivacharan, Durgacharan, Haricaran etc. Gradually the word charan became very popular.
Seventy or eighty years ago, charan of the name was often inserted without the name of the deity. For example, Abhaycharan, Makhancharan, Akshaycharan etc.
Again sixty years ago the word Kumar in the middle of the name was very modern. Arun Chatterjee changed his name to Uttam kumar.
Detective story legend Swapan kumar's real name was Samarendranath Pandey. Could he have been Swapankumar if he kept that name?
Adjective names or substantive names were kept until the Turkish invasion. Like Shashank, Sutanu, Prafulla, Bankim, Mayurakshi, Vajrasena etc.
The stone inscription, which is a vestige of Eastern Magadhi Prakrit, reads in Brahmi script, "Sutanuka nama devadashikyi tang kamayith balanashaye devadinne nama lupdakhe." Meaning, a goddess named Sutanuka was desired by a sage named Devdin of Varanasi. Rupdaksha means sculptor. This is the archetype of Bhumble + Pinky written on the wall.
But in the original Bengali names of the ninth/tenth century, we see two names Devdin and Sutnuka. After the Turkish invasion came the names of the gods and goddesses, then the sub-words with the names. Like Das, Charan, Prasad etc. It went on like this for many days.
After the arrival of the English, several foreign names came into high society. For example, Dolly, Kitty, Ivy, Molly, Renee, Bella etc.
Place names are added to personal names. After the Second World War, this became more widespread. No name of a person above ninety can be found in Irani, Paris, China, Japani, London, Teesta, Jhelum, Sravasti, Bipasha, Nepal, Sahara.
Crompton Dutt was a famous football player. Crompton was a famous scientist. His brother's name is Newton.
I know a girl, twenty years old. Her name is NASA. This NASA does not mean nose, NASA.
What has happened now, the thinking of the name starts even before the birth of the child. If it's a boy this name, if it's a girl that name. Earlier names were kept according to the zodiac sign. Aries should start with A or L. If Taurus is U, B, E ... there was such a rule. For example, one's official name is Krishna Kamal, but the Koshthi name is Patitabandhu.
Rashi name is not used anymore. Want an exceptional name. Must be first. So go and search on Google.
Before the advent of IT and the chow-burger-pizza craze, I had never seen so much parenting research on baby naming.
Anyway, it would have been a marketable name. But excluding all the names of Govardhan, Radharaman, Haridas, Khagen. Anil, Sunil, Dipankar, Dilip, Shampa, Rita, Mita ,Gita,Sunita,Ajay, Vijay,Divya were pretty common. After this came Parth and Amitabh trends. So many Parthasarathi, Parthapratim. Devashis, Devaditya, Devyani, Devalina etc. are also numerous.
Girls' names used to be quite from flowers. Padma, Joba, Shiuli, Dahlia etc. Now the river. river expedition Teesta, Atreyi, Dulung, Jhelum.... Now no new river is available. The Rhine, the Seine, the Volga are also gone.
The sources from which names are selected are religious texts - Puranas, classics - poetry - epics, Rabindra Sahitya. Now the name is kept by Google and extracting words from the net world.
Earlier the names were from the celestial bodies like Falguni, Chitra, Visakha... From names of flowers, birds, seasons, rivers, rivers, cities like Vidisha, Sravasti, Bhupal, Vrindavan.
From gems and jewelry such as Hira,Panna, Mukta, kumkum, Chandan, Abir... Dances, songs, music, rhythms, ornaments, in the name of Ragragini such as Mridanga, Jhankar, Anushtup, Mandakranta....
Names are also formed from intentions or intentions. Like ipsa, snigdha, srimayi, sukanta, lavanya, sthitadhi — in all these the will of the guardian is manifested. Long ago Annakali type of name was used for some girls. After repeatedly having daughters, prayers to Mother Kali - Ar na kali(no more Kali), would become Annakali. This is about the last century.
In today's era, the names of Bollywood actors and actresses are Alia, Shanaya, Akira, Siya, Tia or Kabir. Or all the children of the film world are named after Abram, Aarav or Nitara.
There is a globalization effect. The names of the mentioned Bollywood characters are not free from the influence of globalization. They are all associated with the creative profession. You won't see the name of a doctor or a school teacher or a government clerk.
Kayra is a photographer in Dear Zindagi, Shyra is a tourist guide in Befikre, Akira is a journalist in JabTak hai Jaan. These names belong to the upper class of society. Which is a symbol of modernity. So parents are giving these names to their children. The language of the name is no longer there.
The popularity of foreign names is not less, the names are appreciated all over the world. Now, in an effort to become a Global Citizen, everyone wants to have a name that is easy to pronounce. These names are taken from different languages. That is why the names are Zara, Maisan, Mila or Jayden.
The religious aspect has not been lost in the naming of India, Krishiv(Krishna+shiv)and Krish are being kept instead of Krishna, Shivansh instead of Shiva.
Rare names like Inakshi, Arjak, Arkav, Hemabha and Tarinish in Sanskrit or Bengali. Ganesha, Kartik are replaced by Ved, Atharv, Rik.
The classic Abeer, Meera, Ira, Maya, Arjun, Neela are still not lost. These names are still kept today.
Again, by combining the names of the parents, Aakash and Anamika become Anika or Ayash. These names are also very popular.
I don't understand the meaning of some names. Such as Tourna, Irma, Lazuli, Perno etc.
These names were found in the first grade attendance register of a girls' school in north Kolkata. Meghdrita, Pritha, Stormi, Raisa, Shailja, Apsari, Eva, Archi, Atandrila, Mayesha, Elora, Tusu, Naira, Arya, Alia, Ahana, Myra, Ruhi, Shreyanshi, Devanshi, Amaira, Diba, Ayra, Ayanti, Satviki. ....
Anjali, Lalita, Sumita, Jhuma,Manavi, Pallavi, Nilima, Shubhomita, Minati, Papiya, Devyani have already moved Kshemankari, Haripriya, Bishnupriya, Shatrupa, Shefali, Sudhamoyi and entered Namavali.
Neelima, Anjali are still there. In Bira, Guma, Dattapukur, Payradanga.
Why is the name of the girls, the name of the boys sweat a lot. Headaches. 'Furaye Gele Uninish Pipa Nasya' is a matter of group. What names! Manijinjir,Jayesh, Sainak,Avro, Nishad, Liam, Mason, Ayush, Divyansh, Reyansh, Kabir, Ayan, Rayan, Aiman,Zain, Barid, Arhan, Samar, Sameer....
I know that Manijinjir will become 'Mac' when he grows up. Because such a big name can't be written, friends can't even say it.
During the British period many Janardans would have been John, Harinath would have been Harry. Abhisheks are now going abroad and become Abhi. Bodhisattva Banerjee is Bob.
There is a strange craze these days about giving exceptional names.
I am reminded of a rhyme by Sudev Bakshi— 'What is your name?— What did you say?/Chilatchulu Chilonjali.' When the rhyme comes up, let's say a rhyme about naming Annadashankar Roy. —'The more the father buys, the more the son tears / Shawl, shoes, dhoti and shirts / this boy is a Badar(monkey)/ smiles sweetly / quietly approaches / passes nose to mouth / this girl is a Dassi(Crazy)/
It is understood that these are the names of love. Affectionate names often become nicknames. By nickname I mean the name that is usually called by more people. A name is actually a word that symbolizes the identification of something. Places, objects, nature, living beings, animals and people all need identification.
Homeopathy Doctor Kanailal Kayal. By combining the initials of his name and title, he is identified as Kak Doctor. His identity in his residence Dr . kayal .His friends call him KK. His parents called him 'Kanu' since childhood. In the in-laws' house, he know as bete jamai aka short son-in-law. Kanailal Kayal is a official name but he has so many other names.
Yogindranath Sarkar's rhyme is 'in-law's house went to Gope to Gopinath', meaning, the man is known as Gope, if he goes to a little higher platform he is Gopinath.
Our folk society divides things into two parts. Atpaure and Tola. Tola cups and plates are there, taken out when guests arrive, also tola clothes. The name so taken is in office-court-shraddhashanti. And the name Atpaure is at home, in the neighborhood, near the relatives. That's the nickname.
Biswajit becomes Bishye, Dhananjay Dhana. It doesn't make sense that it will always be like this. Siddhartha Shankar Roy's nickname was Manu. Scientist Satyen Bose's nickname was Bonde, Satyajit Ray's manik. Nicknames are usually not kept, but become.
Even the parents do not know when the Buro or Buri name is established to call a toothless child in exaggeration. How many old people name is Khoka or khokon ? There were also nicknames such as Boro Khoka-Mezho Khoka in neighboring houses.
There are many names like Choton, Noton, Gheton,Chintu,Chotu, Babu, Habu, Patla, Dabu,Bablu. which has nothing to do with the clothing name. A nickname can be created in many ways.
A name is formed for physical reasons, such as Motu, Shutko, Golu,Dhanga, Batul, Pacati, Patlu, Khyanda. If the hair on the head is less, shake it, if the left hand is more active, nata...etc. Nicknames are sometimes created according to nature. If you're stupid, then you're crazy.
Sometimes nicknamed according to the date of birth. Soma, Budho, Budhi, Ravi etc.
A nickname was created due to reformation. Earlier the infant mortality rate was high, the premature death of a child was a symbolic sale of the next child in exchange for money. In this way the names Panchkori, Satkori, No'kori were born. Panchkori would become Panchu. Satkori satu. Nokori Noku.
Satya's name also did not prevent Satu. Nokulchandra could also have become Noku.
Nicknames can also be based on complexion. Like Dhola,Kala, kele, Dhopa, Gora.... Sometimes a little older, sometimes jokingly, someone is identified in one way. Like Bhodai, Guay, Kumro, Hangla etc.
A 'u' sound is used to express affection. If you want to pronounce 'u', you have to pucker your lips a little. Kisses during meals too. That's why when I want to caress, I say Chunumumu, Tunumunu.
Many nicknames are derived from affectionate greetings such as Butun, Tutun, Bubu, Munmun, Mitul. Tulu, Tuku, Pulu etc. If that pulu is neglected, it will become pala. Look at the use of the word a to denote contempt. If Nepal is affectionately called Nepu, it is called Napla in contempt. Ganesha becomes Ganasha, and a little affectionately Ganu. Time to abuse him Gana.
In East Bengal, the word of endearment is a little different. Parana becomes Parainya, Gopal Gopailya, Hamid Hamidya, Golam Golaimya.
Again, it is not exactly contempt, if a little less priority is given, Babu becomes Babua, Manu Manua. Lalu Lalua To sarcastically, the wording is a little different. Panchu becomes Pencho, Madan becomes Madana. Soleiman can be Salu, if you are angry with him, Salua.
These days a nickname is also kept in a well-to-do household. Riya, Tia, Hridi, Nadi, Arsha, Barsha, Hridya, Samya, Pakhi, Rakhi, Sona, Tuna etc. This nickname is common in all Hindu-Muslim families.
In addition to Bengali, Arabic also has small nicknames such as Nora, Ara, Radi, Sadi, Aya, Raya. Nicknames with the suffix 'I' are also popular. Like Babai, Tukai, Tatai, Kuchai....
A Bengali Hindu has no qualms about disrespecting the name. Kele, Jedo, Hele etc. are all corrupted names.
It is not so visible among Bengali Muslims. A lot can be said about the naming of Islam. I could not bring that context here. Can be said later.
You will see one thing, the problem of naming is only for the Rich people and the middle class. Poor people don't have to look up names in the dictionary. Whatever becomes a name. But sometimes a shadow of latent desire remains in the name.
Some such names are Daroga, Sultan, Police, Biddo (BDO), Cake, Sweety, Beauty, Saheb, Kishmis, Raja, Lodgens, Badsha, Zamindar....
Here is a list of an underdeveloped region that got 100 days of work. Shankar Ruidas, Bijoy Ruidas, Tubri Bauri, Bang Bauri, Parvati Bauri, Joba Bauri,Fulmati Bauri, Banku Bagdi, Pagal Bagdi, Pedo Bagdi, Munni Bagdi, Alpana Bagdi, Nongra Mete, Sannyasi Mete, Kookan Mete, Mansa Garai, Aarti Garai,Rubel Soren….
They may have had the same name for the past two decades. Only a few names like Uttam, Mithun can be added.
But the name of the lower caste people in the society has also changed. Especially those who are studying and working.
Because many times they have to suffer irony for names especially surnames. In many cases it becomes difficult to get a good private job.
At one time, high class Hindus named themselves after mythological gods and goddesses such as Shiva, Parvati, Ram and low class Hindus named themselves after local gods and goddesses such as Murgana, Ayyappam, Haria.
Nowadays many lower class Hindus are also keeping names like Shiva, Parvati and Rama.
So much casteism, caste system is not seen among Muslims. It is the same among Christians. So maybe not so many changes are seen through the name.
Many lower caste Hindus are changing their surnames or family names to surnames like Chowdhury or Chandra or Kumar.
Siddhant Kumar who is an entrepreneur in India. He changed his surname Paswan to Kumar to avoid casteism.
Upper class people are keeping names so that they can be associated with globalization and lower class people are keeping names so that they can be associated with upper class people.
It is sometimes important. Because many times we consider people because of the name. The two names above Sulina Pal and Vishwanath Mahato are real examples of that.
First of all, I said, name is Identity. Rabindranath also said 'name is not just a name'. Society and individual can be understood by name.
But it all goes awry when someone named Shuvabrata or Anuvrata tells public meetings to bomb the police, burn houses or the self-proclaimed philanthropist of the area wishes happy New Year with eye-popping pictures. The name of social service is Peto Jagai.
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