2 or 3 names

aghori · Feb 11th, 2007, 17:48

I heard that Indians have 2 or 3 names. One religious that no one suppose to say, one for home and family and one like official name for documents and people not known well.
What is the reason for having different name for home and documents? And how common it is?

batistuta · Feb 11th, 2007, 17:54

people who take initiation from a guru have a diksha(not sure)name other than thier regular name.The swamis who wre initiated by the guru are called by thier initiated name and one can utter it i guess.

I am not sure about all Indians as not all of them get Initiated and i have never seen people use one name at home(unless it is a pet name)and one in official documents.
Hopefully other IMers can post if they have seen this scenario.

Nick-H · Feb 11th, 2007, 18:21

Such things vary wildly according to location and community. It is one of those areas where it is hard to refer just to 'Indians'

ranjan154 · Feb 11th, 2007, 20:02

Its just out of love .. like when your kid is small and you want to call him/her by some short name. you keep some name like sonu, bunty, lovely.. But then if these name are kept in documents they will look bit odd.. so people then choose some other name.

My son i call him GUGU(Google) at home and the name for school is Anubhav Ranjan quite a heavy name for little kid of 15 months

All people might have different opinions about ..

Djinn · Feb 13th, 2007, 22:35

There is also the fact that most kids are named after their grand fathers or grandmothers or some such elderly relative. Out of respect for that elderly person, the given name becomes the official name in documents etc and a a shortened version or a different name is used by friends and family.

nayan · Feb 13th, 2007, 22:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Djinn

There is also the fact that most kids are named after their grand fathers or grandmothers or some such elderly relative. Out of respect for that elderly person, the given name becomes the official name in documents etc and a a shortened version or a different name is used by friends and family.

is it?
well... not in my part of India (the east).... I would certainly have rebeled if I had been named after my grandparents....(I was named by them)

We usually have a "proper" name.... something with a very nice meaning in sanskrit.....
This proper name is usually a three or four syllable name. so we have a pet name used by family and friends..... the pet name usually does not have any meaning.

Djinn · Feb 14th, 2007, 09:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by nayan

is it?
well... not in my part of India (the east).... I would certainly have rebeled if I had been named after my grandparents....(I was named by them)

We usually have a "proper" name.... something with a very nice meaning in sanskrit.....
This proper name is usually a three or four syllable name. so we have a pet name used by family and friends..... the pet name usually does not have any meaning.

I should have said most kids in TamilNadu then :-) My father wanted to name me after his mother. But my mother stood her ground and named me Vidya, rather than my granny's old fashioned name. My husband's name on the other hand is quite a mouthful. The trend is changing here too. People are going for shorter, more modern names.

nayan · Feb 14th, 2007, 14:18

Proves Nicks point

everything varies widely according to community/social strata.... very difficult to say something as "Indian" custom

bariloche · Feb 15th, 2007, 13:02

One thing I found in India was that everyone asked "What is your good name?" At first I thought they were trying to distinguish between my first name and my surname and then I assumed it was merely a polite form of enquiry. I assume that is correct.

just_an_old_boy · Feb 15th, 2007, 13:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick-H

Such things vary wildly according to location and community. It is one of those areas where it is hard to refer just to 'Indians'

Good observation.

BTW, there is a pronounced North-South divide.

In the North, the official name simply consists of <proper first name> , <optional middle name> <surname>. Surnames can denote any kind of grouping i.e. caste, gotra, ethnic origin etc.

The southern is a different case altogather. Sometime they go on and on. Ask southies

aghori · Feb 15th, 2007, 13:34

Quote:

The southern is a different case altogather. Sometime they go on and on. Ask southies

What it means going on and on?
What is middle name in India? In Russia it is father's first name with certain suffix.

just_an_old_boy · Feb 15th, 2007, 14:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by aghori

What it means going on and on?
What is middle name in India? In Russia it is father's first name with certain suffix.

Similar to the Russian case normally. But in the southern India sometime the middle name, or better said middle names may contain names of father, grandfather, village, province etc.

capt_mahajan · Feb 15th, 2007, 14:37

.. and the whole of south india is not homogenous in this regard. For that matter, neither is the whole of north homogeneous with its usual method either.

proves nicks point again.

Nick-H · Feb 15th, 2007, 15:42

A typical long-form southern name formula...

[City of Origin] [Father's Given Name] [Given Name] [Caste Name]

At least for Tamils... I'd just got used to all this, when, one day I noticed that different generations of my Telegu friend's family shared the same initial --- it seems they have a family name like the Western style.

Feb 11th, 2007, 17:48	#1
aghori Senior Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Russia/Goverdhan Posts: 189	2 or 3 names I heard that Indians have 2 or 3 names. One religious that no one suppose to say, one for home and family and one like official name for documents and people not known well. What is the reason for having different name for home and documents? And how common it is?

Feb 11th, 2007, 20:02	#4
ranjan154 Amateur Photographer Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Greater Noida (India) Posts: 856	Its just out of love .. like when your kid is small and you want to call him/her by some short name. you keep some name like sonu, bunty, lovely.. But then if these name are kept in documents they will look bit odd.. so people then choose some other name. My son i call him GUGU(Google) at home and the name for school is Anubhav Ranjan quite a heavy name for little kid of 15 months All people might have different opinions about .. __________________ Rakesh Ranjan -------------- http://www.flickr.com/photos/travinfoindia/

Feb 15th, 2007, 14:37	#13
capt_mahajan Infidel Sufi Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: styx Posts: 13,606	.. and the whole of south india is not homogenous in this regard. For that matter, neither is the whole of north homogeneous with its usual method either. proves nicks point again. __________________ . Outside the machine

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Indian Names	Erato	Chai and Chat	31	Jul 29th, 2008 15:13
Names In Red	New-South-Welshman	Forum Help and Announcements	2	Jan 23rd, 2007 11:40
Beautiful names	villavic	Chai and Chat	81	Sep 25th, 2006 00:18
Are this names the same name??	technoyos	Chai and Chat	2	Sep 19th, 2006 13:43
Indian names - need help.	technoyos	Chai and Chat	12	Aug 31st, 2006 05:14

Feb 11th, 2007, 17:54	#2
batistuta Maha Guru Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,727	people who take initiation from a guru have a diksha(not sure)name other than thier regular name.The swamis who wre initiated by the guru are called by thier initiated name and one can utter it i guess. I am not sure about all Indians as not all of them get Initiated and i have never seen people use one name at home(unless it is a pet name)and one in official documents. Hopefully other IMers can post if they have seen this scenario.

Feb 11th, 2007, 18:21	#3
Nick-H This is just a cameo appearance Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 36,210	Such things vary wildly according to location and community. It is one of those areas where it is hard to refer just to 'Indians'

Feb 13th, 2007, 22:35	#5
Djinn Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 4	There is also the fact that most kids are named after their grand fathers or grandmothers or some such elderly relative. Out of respect for that elderly person, the given name becomes the official name in documents etc and a a shortened version or a different name is used by friends and family.

Feb 14th, 2007, 14:18	#8
nayan Forum Leader Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: hyderabad/tokyo Posts: 1,930	Proves Nicks point everything varies widely according to community/social strata.... very difficult to say something as "Indian" custom

Feb 15th, 2007, 13:02	#9
bariloche Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Perth, W Australia Posts: 34	One thing I found in India was that everyone asked "What is your good name?" At first I thought they were trying to distinguish between my first name and my surname and then I assumed it was merely a polite form of enquiry. I assume that is correct.

Feb 15th, 2007, 15:42	#14
Nick-H This is just a cameo appearance Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 36,210	A typical long-form southern name formula... [City of Origin] [Father's Given Name] [Given Name] [Caste Name] At least for Tamils... I'd just got used to all this, when, one day I noticed that different generations of my Telegu friend's family shared the same initial --- it seems they have a family name like the Western style.