When Names Mean Otherwise
By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
5 February 2026
I am always amused by names like 'Aniket', 'Pureesh', 'Pramith', 'Vidip', 'Nikship,’ ‘Malin ' et al. Though all the names are sweet-sounding, their connotations aren't so. 'Aniket' does mean 'an orphan' because 'A' prefix is used to denote absence or something negative. 'Niket' means 'home' or 'roof'. So, the full meaning is: 'A person, who has no home or roof over his/ her head'. In plain words, a ' homeless person.' 'Pramith' means an illegitimate child. 'Pureesh' connotes excreta (vishtha), especially human excreta, 'Vidip' is a fool, 'Nikshrip' or 'Nikship' is a eunuch and 'Malin' means 'dirty' and 'squalid’! A name should have a meaning, a positive one at that. There're lots of sweet-sounding words that connote otherwise. I came across a person, whose name was 'Shonit'. 'Shonit' purports blood in Sanskrit. The 'Bard of Avon' may have said, ' What's in a name?' But there's much more to it than what meets the eye. A name shapes up a person's personality and influences his / her entire life. It has been found many times that a person has acted according to the meaning of his / her name. In Mahabharat, Bhishm abducted princesses 'Amba', 'Ambika' and 'Ambalika' for his half-brother 'Vichitraveerya' (literal meaning: Strange Semen because 'veerya' or 'nutfa' is semen in Sanskrit).
He indeed was impotent. How his parents knew that their son would be impotent is a matter of research! I've come across people with names from the characters of Mahabharat and even met people with names such as 'Duryodhan', 'Dushashan' and ' Shishupal ' (who was beheaded by Krishna for exceeding 100 abuses) but never have I come across anyone with a name like 'Vichitraveerya.' What intrigues me most is that a person can have a conotationally strange name and he/she may be unaware of the actual meaning of it, but why don't others ever point out and exhort them to change such names? No exaggeration or lie, but yours truly met a woman in western UP, whose name was 'Rajaswala' (a menstruating woman, though she passed that age!). Despite hailing from the Hindi belt, why wasn't she ever told what her name meant? Why didn't her Hindi teachers call her parents and request to change their daughter's utterly embarrassing name? Did she have equally ignorant neighbours? This really beats me. Nowadays, there's a trend of meaningless names like 'Anushka', 'Asita', 'Ahana', 'Arita,' 'Nyasa,' to name but a few. These names may sound exotic but have no definite meanings. Recently, I met a young couple in Poona. In a bid to give a very different and uncommon name to their daughter, they christened her 'Aridha'. I asked them what it meant.
They said that they deliberately chose a name that had no meaning but sounded exotic. This reminded me of yet another similar sounding meaningless name, Kaahiti. When a name carries no meaning, that person also lacks substance. He or she is like a rudderless ship. Every individual should have a name with a positive and desirable meaning. And every person must know the meaning of his / her name. On this count, I recommend The Penguin Book of Hindu Names, written by Maneka Gandhi. Read and know what your name means. Finally, we know that the name 'Suman' means 'a flower' but it also means ' a person with a good heart ' and in classical Vedic Sanskrit: ' A woman, who has innumerable suitors' (Maneka hasn't given this rather mischievous connotation!).
In short, a beautiful name exercises a spiritual and noble influence and impression on the character of the person concerned. Similarly, an evil name has its evil influence on a person.
In Islam, a beautiful name is among the Huqooq (Rights) which the child has over his/her parents. When parents fail to uphold this right, the child has a claim against them for this failure.
Vulnerabilities of having two names:
Psychologists around the world have noticed that changing people's names after a certain age may change their behavioural and personality styles. There's always a conflict between the old name and the name chosen later. Nowadays, people change the orthography (spelling) of their names when some numerologists advise and suggest peculiar spellings to invite good luck. Instead of bringing about good fortune, weird spellings do just the opposite. The best example being Rakesh Bapat, a little known actor who acted in a few Hindi and Marathi films in the beginning of the new millennium. Some stupid numerologist suggested that he must change the spelling of his name and made him Raqesh from Rakesh. After changing the spelling of his name and becoming Raqesh, his destiny nosedived. He disappeared from Hindi films and TV. First of all, Hindu names don't have the Q or Qaaf sound. 'Rakesh' is the standard spelling. 'Raqesh' looks and sounds bizarre. So, the poor actor's destiny and career also took a bizarre turn and people forgot him. This happened when he changed the spelling of his name. Peculiar and strange spellings create negative vibes and instead of doing good, they destroy the life of a person.
…
A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/when-names-mean-otherwise/d/138734
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism