According to an article published in Calcutta’s Telegraph newspaper about a year ago, choosing a baby name in Bengal is “a matter of much thinking, strategy and aesthetics.”
The authors of the article noted that parents seem to be split into two camps when it comes to choosing names:
One set of parents would like short, sweet, easy, “universal-Indian” names. […] The other set of parents would look for imaginative, unique, traditional or traditional-sounding Indian names in keeping with a new trendiness.
The first set of parents would go for names like Abhishek, Neha, Oormi and Rahul.
The second set would gravitate toward names like Katyayani, Mrinalini, Priyamvada, Saimantika, Sarbajaya (which are easy to shorten into nicknames like Kati, Pri and Sam).
Other names mentioned in the article include…
- Male names: Aditya, Amartya, Amitkanti, Arun, Aryaman, Ashok, Bihan (“dawn”), Biman, Kalarab (“cacophony”), Laksh, Neel, Rakamouli, Rith (“truth”; “sun”), Snehil (“affectionate”), Sourav, Srayan, Subrata, Tanish
- Female names: Aishwarya, Bhalobasha (“love”), Debjani, Kirtika, Poushali, Pranaadhika, Renisa (based on musical notes), Sanasthita, Sannanti, Shaapla (a flower), Shikha, Sukanya, Vandita
(I guessed about the gender for some of the above.)
Finally, here are some examples of “extraordinary” Indian names: Atasikaya, Bitapichhaya, Neelakasheektitara, Shyamalimaya, Shyamsohagini and Pincle (whose grandfather named him in honor of English cricketer Derek Pringle).
Source: Chatterjee, Chandreyee and Nabamita Mitra. “Game of The Name.” Telegraph [Calcutta] 19 Nov. 2006.
Image: Adapted from Durga Puja in Kolkata by Indrajit Das under CC BY-SA 4.0
I have a very close friend from Mumbai who named her son Mihir (pronounced Mee- heer.) She has trouble with Americans pronouncing it Mie her which makes her laugh. :)