Name as the gateway to fame
When I first visited the US in 1964, the film Jungle Book, based on Rudyard Kipling’s book, was very popular. The role of the ‘Elephant Boy’ was played by Sabu. So, whenever I introduced myself to people, the next question inevitably was, “Are you related to Sabu, the Elephant Boy?” This was so unfailing that I decided to change my introduction to “I am Saboo, and no, I am not related to the Elephant Boy.”
A close friend, author of a weekly bulletin, writing about me inadvertently, spelled my name “Sabu”. She realised the faux pas and apologised, despite my telling it was not an issue.
Names of persons follow different traditions. In North India, we are most familiar with the system of a first name followed by a surname. However, in many communities in South India, the second name is the given name, and the first is that of the father. So, naturally, both the first and the given names change with each generation. Sometimes, the name of the native place and that of the grandfather is added, making names long, and the need to use multiple initials.
Long names are also common in Hispanic America. I had a friend in Brazil — Paulo (his given name), followed by Viriato (his mother’s), Corrêa (his father’s) and then da Costa (his village). Introducing was always an amusing and time-consuming experience.
Like clothes, names too tend to be in or out of fashion. In my generation, names like Usha, Prem, Raj, Dharam were common. In a dipstick study done at a local school, I found that 25 years ago, the five most popular names for girls were Neha, Sugandha, Shikha, Isha and Priyanka. But not even one of them is in the top five today — the most popular now are Mehak, Ananya, Khushi, Nishtha and Gunjan. For those interested, the most fashionable names among teenaged boys appear to be Aditya, Arnav, Armaan, Dhruv and Raghav.
Changing name trends are probably explained by the desire among parents to find uncommon names for their children. Sometimes they go overboard. Bishan Singh Bedi, our legendary spin bowler, named his first son Gavasinder, after his equally famous contemporary Sunil Gavaskar. I am sure it remains unique even today. And I cannot forget that in 1979, when debris from the crashing satellite Skylab threatened areas across Asia, a child in Patiala was named Skylab Singh. He made all the headlines. But I read later that he wasn’t unique; a child in Thailand shared this funny name.
And then there are pseudonyms. Writers, artists and actors seem to adopt them the most. I can only imagine that it is because the new names are considered luckier or better sounding. Mark Twain, the famous American author, was originally Samuel Clemens. And the name of the City Beautiful’s architect was Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, before he moved to Paris from Switzerland and became Le Corbusier.
