What's in a name?

I think it was in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in which Romeo waxed, "What's in a name?" and then something about a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet. Whatever. Romeo was obviously naive, probably sheltered, and wore tights. With a suicidal girlfriend and feuding parents, he had bigger issues than worrying about names.

My children have American names. Their first names are neither Indian nor Italian. My son's first name's etymology is Hebrew and can be found in the Old Testament. My daughter's first name is Scottish. Their middle names are both biblical as well. When they were born I was not into being Indian. That didn't happen until much later. I had pretty firm ideas of what to name my little ones once they were born. I did not want any names that were too ethnic souding - of any origin. I did not consider Indian names at all. To be fair, very ethnic sounding Italian names were out as well. I wanted American names, generic names that people could easily pronounce and spell. My mind was made up. It was non-negotiable.

Apparently in the non-Indian myopic and hormonally charged mindset that I was in during my pregnancies and after, I failed to consider the ramifications of them not having Indian names. It didn't really occur to me that I could have given them Indian names as middle names and used American names when it was convenient. Many other ethnic groups do this successfully. Koreans, for example, customarily name their children with very traditional Korean names that they use in the family unit. They also give their children American names that their American teachers, friends, colleagues, and business associates can use. Eun won and Jihoon are Evelyn and James to everyone who isn't Korean.

Other ethnicities do this too, such as Jewish families. I had several friends growing up who, in addition to having Western names, also had Hebrew names. This was the name that was used when they had their Bar or Bat Mitzvahs. I'm not sure if those names are used again at various points in life, but it's a nice way to honor their religious tradition.

I could have saved myself a good bit of hassle, and made my mom happy if I had just given them Indian names when they were born. There is really no good reason why I didn't do so, other than not being very Indian at the time. I could have given Indian names alongside their American names and giving them the option of which name to use when. It would have made more sense to do to that. None of that occurred to me then.

Fast forward and now that they are turning four and seven, I have searched through countless name databases and consulted friends to find the perfect little Indian names for my kids. The younger one is oblivious to of all of this. As far as she knows she has always had an Indian name. The older one is more aware that this is a significant change, something that is closely liked to his identity, something unusual.

So why now? It's a valid question. The main reason is that I am more Indian. It's trendy to be Indian. Aishwarya Rai is in Revlon ads and gazes at me with her green eyes every time I am in Target. Being Indian couldn't get much more mainstream than that. One of the main characters of NBC's Heroes is Indian (and good looking too!). There are practical reasons too. I want them to have the option of using Indian names, or not, as situations warrant. They have their American names to blend in with everyone else the rest of the time. If they need to be Italian, my husband's last name certainly fits the bill. Now, if they have to pull the Indian card for any reason, say on college applications, then they at least have it to pull. Granted this whole personal odyssey of becoming more Indian would been more convenient had it been a few years ago, but alas, that is not the case. Better late than never, I suppose.

Last, but not least, I am jumping on the renaming bandwagon. Many cities in India are renaming themselves to their ancestral names, now that the British have been gone for a while. If Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata can adopt new names, then adding Indian names to my children's names is okay, too, right? Sure it is... It's trendy!