Kids Corner

Roundtable

What Is In A Name?
The Roundtable Open Forum # 69

by NAVEEN KALIA

 

 

The following news item is presented as the topic for discussion for this week's Rountable Open Forum.   

 

Ludhiana. Punjab

The visit of the Rattan family, devout Sikhs, to Gurdwara Sahib in Model Town here on Thursday, June 30, 2011, was special.

It was to seek blessings on the occasion of the namkaran (naming ceremony) of a three-month old member of the family.

Kevin!

And Kevin was accompanied by his father Patrick, mother Jhonnie and elder brother Eric, 2, among others.

Confused?

Don't be.

Kevin is actually Sushmit Singh and Eric's real name is Asmit Singh. Patrick is Sarabdeep Singh.

There is a Stephen and Smithy in the family as well.

All this, courtesy some members of the family living in Canada and United Kingdom, who ended up making it a tradition of sorts to 'export' foreign names for their family members back in India. It all started with Sarabdeep, whose aunt Surinder Kaur, living in Canada suggested this name for him and his parents also approved it.

An advocate by profession, Patrick said that now such names have become a tradition in his family and everyone likes it.

"I also like my nickname. My school, college friends and now my professional friends call me with my nickname", Patrick added.

As for Kevin, his nickname was suggested by his aunt Angela from United Kingdom and according to Patrick he has already started responding to this name.

Patrick said that Asmit's nickname, Eric, was suggested by one of his sisters, who is living in Canada. He said that when Asmit was born in 2006, his aunt had suggested several foreign names, but they liked Eric.

 

ROUNDTABLE OPEN FORUM # 69 

POINTS TO PONDER

What are your thoughts on the above?

Does your family use nicknames? 

And how do you choose the 'official' names for your children?

Any unsusual names in your family or friends circle? What is their origin?

 

July 2, 2011

 

 

Conversation about this article

1: Avinash  (Canada), July 02, 2011, 7:28 AM.

I find it slightly unusual that as individuals with unique names that carry deep meaning, that these individuals would want to just go by some random name so it is ostensibly easier for them to be accepted. Our names are chosen for us for a reason and no matter what your name, you should be proud and show respect by using your given name. I am not a devout Sikh, but I go by Avinash, Avi or Nashii (the latter two are family nicknames from my younger siblings and cousins who couldn't properly say my name). I love it when people tell me my name is unique and lovely, and I also enjoy explaining the meaning and how I was named. If you as a Sikh are ashamed of your own name (essentially your own culture, religion, etc.), how can we expect the prejudice from non-Sikhs to stop? We have to be proud of the names we are given. It is so annoying to meet people who do not use their given names ... How do you get to Bobby from Kamaljit?

2: Ari Singh (Sofia, Bulgaria), July 02, 2011, 7:58 AM.

My son's name is Kristjan Johann Arason. Kristjan is his Icelandic grandfather, Johann is his Austrian grandfather (from his grandmother's side). Arason comes form my name. My daughter's name is Angelika Singh Kazryants Arievna. Kazaryants is her mother's Armenian surname (my second wife) and Arievna comes from my name. By law in Iceland all citizens must have the first name as Icelandic. Therefore, I had to drop Manjit and take Ari. Khushwant Singh (former Chief Editor of The Illustrated Weekly of India) once wrote an interesting article, also titled "What's in a name?"

3: Devinder Singh (India), July 02, 2011, 8:11 AM.

It is not unusual for a westerner enamoured of Indian mysticism taking up an Indian name. Ronald Henry Nixon, a young English fighter pilot in the World War I, who later took a degree from Cambridge University, came to India in 1921. In his early twenties, he had received an offer of appointment as a lecturer in English at the newly opened University of Lucknow and sailed for India, where he spent the rest of his life. Young Professor Nixon was very popular among the University set. But that did not deter him from taking up Hindu practice of sanyaas, along with the name 'Krishnaprem'. Taking up names from alien cultures sets the tone for imbibing the adopted culture. That is a welcome step to reducing strife among cultures, thereby preventing the much anticipated clash of civilizations.

4: Sangat Singh  (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), July 02, 2011, 8:14 AM.

This is not new. Way back in 1942 or so, in Lyallpur we had a rural family with three boys named: Tota Mal, Mota Mal and, when the youngest one came along, was named Khota Mal ... because it had to rhyme with the other two siblings - a sort of family tradition.

5: Roopinder Singh Bains (Surrey, British Columbia, Canada), July 02, 2011, 9:04 PM.

Since Sanskrit is the origin of the Indo-European language system, are the names really foreign?

6: Jaswinder Singh (Seattle, WA, U.S.A.), July 04, 2011, 1:46 PM.

I love S. Sangat Singh's comments. Cracked me up.

7: Parmjit Singh (Canada), July 05, 2011, 12:30 AM.

Here's some therapy for all of those, including Kevins, who've toughed it out with pride with names their parents have given them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va_khUXaJz4

8: Brijinder Singh (New York, U.S.A.), July 05, 2011, 3:03 PM.

"Naam Gurmeet Singh si, jo Garry ho gaya. Pani panjaa(n) dariawaa(n) wala naehri ho gaya. Munda pind da si, sheher aa ke sheheri ho gaya" - Satinder Sartaj.

9: Prakash Singh Bagga (India), July 06, 2011, 2:13 PM.

There is nothing without Name. Name is there so you are called, referred to and identified by your Name. Everyone is required to be known by a single specific Name which is useful throughout your life. One can have any numbers of nicknames but one real Name is a must. So there is great significance to that one real Name, and only that Name.

10: Manveet Singh (New Delhi, India), August 27, 2011, 4:09 PM.

My name comes as a distorted version of Manmeet. My parents wanted a not-so-common name for me, so they removed the 2nd 'm' and replaced it with 'v'. And quite amazing for such learned parents, they didn't know what 'Manveet' really meant :) http://manveetsingh.wordpress.com/2011/07/24/what-do-i-mean/ Though they had nicknamed me a lot earlier as 'Asham' as they apparently wanted to name me along the lines of 'Ashmeet'. But the hukam they received required a name beginning with an 'M'. Such is life sometimes :) But makes you feel happy for having a unique name!

11: Harmander Singh, (London, United Kingdom), September 09, 2011, 1:59 PM.

My nephew is called Staffan Milo Martinez Singh - his mother is a Swedish national of Chilean origin. His name was the result of the Vaak from Guru Granth Sahib beginning with 'S' and his maternal family being encouraged to choose his name, Milo was chosen by my brother's children from his first marriage. Martinez is his mother's maiden name. Staffan speaks English, Punjabi, Spanish and Swedish. He is four years old.

Comment on "What Is In A Name?
The Roundtable Open Forum # 69"









To help us distinguish between comments submitted by individuals and those automatically entered by software robots, please complete the following.

Please note: your email address will not be shown on the site, this is for contact and follow-up purposes only. All information will be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Sikhchic reserves the right to edit or remove content at any time.