Cultural Education

I learned something today. While at the in-law's for lunch, we were discussing meanings and origins of names. In Hinduism there are rules. Babies are named according to the time of and/or year they were born, caste, etc. I did a bit of research online and learned a bit more. Apparently the birthstar the child is born under has influence in naming as well. The ceremony takes place 2-3 weeks after birth and often involves extended family members.

Namkaran is the naming ceremony. "Nama" means name, "karan" means "to make, to effect" I found 5 rules commonly used:

1. The name of the baby should be easy to pronounce and sound pleasant.
2. The baby name should contain a specified number of syllables and vowels.
3. The name should indicate the sex of the baby.
4. The baby' name should signify wealth, fame or power.
5. The name should be suggestive of the caste of the family.

(http://www.indianchild.com/hindi_names_namkaran.htm )

My mother-in-law told me that she had already named her son, my husband, when "the name" came from "back home" because she wasn't able to wait that long to register his birth and name. The family comes from Guyana, South America.

My husband's name should have been "Harry"...

I can't help but think my life would be different if I were married to a Harry...