{"id":7824,"date":"2015-10-28T06:40:10","date_gmt":"2015-10-28T10:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/whitehindu\/?p=7824"},"modified":"2015-10-27T17:28:26","modified_gmt":"2015-10-27T21:28:26","slug":"hindu-names-for-american-babies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/whitehindu\/2015\/10\/hindu-names-for-american-babies\/","title":{"rendered":"Hindu Names for American Babies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

We have been thinking a lot about baby names recently. Hindu tradition is that you wait to name a baby until after it is born. The astrological chart is used to determine the best syllable to start the name with. We have decided, however, to follow American tradition of having names picked out and ready.<\/p>\n

I want my children to have a Hindu name. They don\u2019t necessarily have to go by it but I\u2019d like them to have the option. I also decided that I would pick Hindu names that are easy for Americans to pronounce. So my criteria for the names we pick are that they are on the shorter side\u00a0and correlate with American pronunciation \u201crules.\u201d I love Indian names and this is not in any way a criticism of long, gorgeous Indian names. I just felt like for my white American kids it would make sense for them to have names that resonate with both their American identity and their Hindu identity.<\/p>\n

So here are some ideas for those who would also like to find Hindu names that are\u00a0relatively\u00a0easy for Americans to deal with!<\/p>\n

Girl<\/h2>\n

Aarti \u201cworship\u201d<\/p>\n

Asha \u201chope\u201d<\/p>\n

Amba \u201cParvati\u201d<\/p>\n

Anjali \u201coffering\u201d<\/p>\n

Bindu \u201cpoint\u201d<\/p>\n

Chandra \u201cmoon\u201d (Also, I believe, a Jewish name)<\/p>\n

Daya \u201ckindness\u201d<\/p>\n

Devina \u201clike a Goddess\u201d<\/p>\n

Gita \u201csong\u201d<\/p>\n

Jaya \u201cvictory\u201d<\/p>\n

Kavita \u201cpoem\u201d<\/p>\n

Lata \u201cvine\u201d<\/p>\n

Mala \u201cgarland\u201d<\/p>\n

Meera \u201ca devotee of Krishna\u201d<\/p>\n

Mina \u201cfish\u201d<\/p>\n

Nisha \u201cnight\u201d<\/p>\n

Puja \u201cprayer\u201d<\/p>\n

Rani \u201cqueen\u201d<\/p>\n

Rima \u201cDurga\u201d<\/p>\n

Sangita \u201cmusic\u201d<\/p>\n

Sashi \u201cmoon\u201d<\/p>\n

Shanti \u201cpeace\u201d<\/p>\n

Sona \u201cgold\u201d<\/p>\n

Boy<\/h2>\n

Aadi \u201cimportant\u201d<\/p>\n

Aalok \u201cvictory\u201d<\/p>\n

Amar \u201cimortal\u201d<\/p>\n

Amit \u201cendless\u201d<\/p>\n

Deep \u201clight\u201d (or Deepak)<\/p>\n

Dev \u201cdivinity\u201d<\/p>\n

Ganesh<\/p>\n

Hari<\/p>\n

Krishan<\/p>\n

Kumar \u201cson\u201d<\/p>\n

Madesh or Mahesh \u201cLord Shiva\u201d<\/p>\n

Mohan \u201ccharming\u201d<\/p>\n

Naveen \u201cnew\u201d<\/p>\n

Praveen \u201cexpert\u201d<\/p>\n

Raj \u201cking\u201d<\/p>\n

Samir \u201cwind\u201d<\/p>\n

Sanjay \u201cvictorious\u201d<\/p>\n

Shiv or Shivan<\/p>\n

A note on the name Dharma<\/a>. It should be a boy\u2019s name but there was a popular sitcom in the U.S. called Dharma & Greg and the main character named Dharma was the wife. I think particularly because it ends in an \u201ca\u201d it is seen as a woman\u2019s name in America.<\/p>\n

And the names that we are probably going to use:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Girl: Priya Ilana<\/p>\n

Priya means \u201cdearest\u201d and Ilana is for my close friend who died six years ago<\/a>. I\u2019ve known ever since I lost her that I would name a daughter after her.<\/p>\n

Boy: Garrick Ravi<\/p>\n

Garrick is a family name on Brad\u2019s side and is Scottish. He\u2019s always wanted to name a son that. Ravi means \u201csun\u201d and also has connotations of Lord Surya, brilliance, and intelligence.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We have been thinking a lot about baby names recently. Hindu tradition is that you wait to name a baby until after it is born. The astrological chart is used to determine the best syllable to start the name with. We have decided, however, to follow American tradition of having names picked out and ready. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1305,"featured_media":7443,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[134,2421,2420,6,2419,2423,2422,2424,53],"class_list":["post-7824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inside-the-life","tag-american-hindu","tag-american-hindu-baby-names","tag-american-hindu-names","tag-hindu","tag-hindu-baby-names","tag-hindu-names-americans-can-pronounce","tag-hindu-names-americans-can-say","tag-hindu-names-for-american-babies","tag-hinduism"],"yoast_head":"\nHindu Names for American Babies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We have been thinking a lot about baby names recently. Hindu tradition is that you wait to name a baby until after it is born. 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