How a Hindu name is chosen?

Answer 1

A Hindu baby is named with great fan fare and celebration. In the life of an India Hindu, the naming ceremony is a major life event - a Samskara. Names are chosen from a variety of sources of Hindu history. They may convey meaning or maybe names of Gods and Goddesses. Names are usually closely connected to religious beliefs.

The life of an India Hindu is ruled by Samskaras or sacred ritual practices prescribed by the ancient scriptures. Samskaras begin with the birth of a person and end with his death. Several Hindu Samskaras are associated with the birth of a Hindu Baby. This starts from Garbhadana(conception), Punsavana(fetus protection), Jatakarma(Child birth) and leads to Namakarna (naming The Child) and Annaprasana (giving solid food to the child). Namakarna or name giving ceremony is an important Samskara in the life of an India Hindu.

A Hindu baby since ancient times has usually been named after Hindu Gods and Goddesses. The child maybe named after a family's chosen deity. Such names are called theophoric. The custom of choosing a name from the Gods is an ancient one, common in Persia, Greece, India and the early Indo-European civilizations. In Vedic times there was a Sanskrit custom for forming patronymics: if Garga was the father, then Gargi was the son, Gargya the grandson and Gargyayana the great-grandson.

The Caste System is also a factor in forming names for a Hindu baby. In Hindu History, Society was divided into four castes based on occupations. These four groups were Brahmins, the priestly class, the Kshatriyas or ruling nobility or warrior class, Vaisyas the merchants and farmers and Shudras the slaves and servants. Hindu names are often formed according to one' caste and sect. Iyer is a caste of South Indian Saivite Brahmins and Sharma is a North Indian Brahmin.
Followers of deities are also identified according to their names. A Hindu baby maybe called Mahadevan, or Subrahmaniam if his family is a follower of Siva. Dasa is a caste name with the meaning of slave referring to a follower of a certain deity like Hari-das or follower of Krishna. Sometimes name is based on a mystical syllable associated with birth Star or Nakshatra, there being 108 such syllables to begin a name, four for each of the twenty seven Stars. Names based on Zodiac signs or stars are common.

Thus the name of a Hindu baby is selected from names of gods, goddesses, saints, deities and it is believed that its meaning can inspire the baby to live a noble life. The divine qualities are hoped to be invoked in the India Hindu. For example 'Atul' is matchless,'Avinash' is indestructible and 'Abhay' is fearless.'Tyagaraja' is king of sacrifices and ' Nataraja' is king of Dances.

Hindu history is replete with stories of gods, goddesses, their incarnations, saints and deities. Nature and its forms are worshipped. A Hindu baby has a vast choice of names. Hindu history consists mainly of Puranas and Itihasa. Both these are sacred literature and contain stories of yore. Ramayan and Mahabharata are the two sacred epics of the Hindus. It contains stories of main divinities, Lord Rama, and Krishna. Apart from them, main Hindu deities are the Tri-partite Godhead, Brahma, Vishnu And Siva. From their worship emerged the various sects and castes.

Namakarna or Naming of a Hindu Baby has thus an important place in the Samskaras. It represents the starting of a close relationship between a man and woman with his religion and entry into a tradition bound Hindu society.