Gori Girl

This is a little off-topic for this thread, but where can I find Indian baby names that reflect what's popular these days? The websites I've found that had interesting names were all full of names that my husband thought were too old-fashioned.

My husband thinks I'm silly to be looking for baby names since we won't be TTC for several more months yet, but my whole life I've loved thinking of baby names.

are there any muslim names that start with ann? that is my only concern.

Post edited 3:14 am – May 25, 2010 by luckyfatima

@Julia I made a list that I have passed around a few times to some friends of girls names that sound good for desi Muslim Americans or desi Muslim/non-desi couples who want an easy 'Islamic' type name. There are only two -ann names on my list, sorry. Another ann- names I can think of is Anjum which is the Arabic word for stars. Also Andalib, Arabic for nightingale (plural is also a name Anaadil which I guess you could spell Annadelle = nightinggales which would sound like the Arabic pronunciation, but the Urdu pronunciation is like un-aah-dil). They are lovely names but IMHO it is difficult for the goras.

Anaya and Anisa are really pretty, though.

EDIT!: I have looked up a couple of 'easy for the goras' ann- names for you. I vetoed some ones which I thought didn't sound aesthetically pleasing or had a weird meaning (like Aneeza means goats ;-) ) but I am confirming the Arabic meanings of a couple of names for you first (I told you I don't trust baby name websites, especially ones with a communal 'add name' feature).

There is also the Persian origin name Anooshah/Anousheh, which means delight/happyness.

"I made this list of girl's names for another pregnant friend looking for a good Muslim name that was okay for the goras to pronounce:

All are Arabic unless indicated as other. You can leave the ‘h’ off of the ending of any of these names, it is just to be closer to the Arabic spelling that many people leave it on.

Meanings are confirmed from The Complete Book of Muslim and Parsi Names by Maneka Gandhi and Ozair Husain. (Don't trust unsourced babyname website meanings!!!)"

Aida: saffron
Aliyah: high, exalted, feminine of Ali, (my daughter is Alayah, the diminutive of this)
Amani : uh-maan-I pl. of hope
Amara: a sign
Amber/Ambreen/Ambreen: amber
Amina: trust worthy, one with iman
Ammara: uh-maa-ruh: tolerant
Anayah: uh-naa-yuh (in Urdu this becomes Inaayat, but you can use the Arabic pronunciation): help from God, grace, bounty from God. This is actually popular in Pakistan right now as a girl’s name.
Anisah: uh-nee-suh companion/friend
Ariana/Aryana: aa-ree-aa-nuh, (Farsi name) pure, it is related to the word Aryan, as in the nation of Iran and the root of the word Ireland, it is a proto-European word. This name is also popular in Pakistan right now. It is the name of the Afghan airlines. It sounds close to the word for naked in some dialects of Arabic, as some facetious Arabs will tell you, but the real Arabic word is ‘uryaanah, not Ariana anyway. The word Uryaan exists meaning 'naked' in litererary Urdu, too.
Dalia: dahlia the flower
Daniya: close or near (Arabic)
Daria: daa-ree-yuh: learned, knowledgeable
Dara: daa-raa, halo
Farah: furr-uh, not Fae-ruh as in English: joy
Faria/Fariah: faa-ree-yuh: tall
Haniyah: haa-nee-yuh: a young maid
Hina: Hinn-nuh: henna, mehndi
Jennah: Paradise, Heaven. This is said as jinnat/jennut in Urdu, but you can just use the Arabic pronunciation which sounds like the English name Jenna.
Layla: night (this is considered a bad meaning by Pakistanis, though)
Linah: soft, gentle, also spelled Lena, like our forum friend.
Liyah: pure white, morning
Liyaan: lee-yawn: gentleness
LujaneLujain: loo-jane, silver
Marjaan/Marjaana: coral (I love this name, it is mentioned in the Quran, but it sounds like die-life or die in Urdu.
Maria/Maaria/Mariya/Mariah/Mariyah: maa-ri-uh (note the stress is on the first syllable, not as in Spanish): a type of bird, fair complexioned, the Christian wife of the Prophet pbuh. Popular in Pakistan right now, also sounds close to the Italian and Spanish names to Americans
Maya: means like wealth or capital in Farsi (and in Urdu, like sar-o-maya) it is also a note on the Persio-Arabic musical scale.
Mina: mee-nuh: Farsi. a type of enamel used to decorate gold. This is a well known style of desi gold design, you can google meena/mina meena kaam or meena kari for pictures.
Muna/Mona: muh-nuh: a wish or desire
Naila/Nayla: nigh-luh: a winner, achiever
Niyah: knee-yuh: vow, intention (this is niyyat in Urdu)
Nolah/Naulah: Largesse, a gift, a kiss
Naurah: no-ruh: a blossom
Nura/Nora: Light, illumination
Rasinah: of good character
Razaan: ruh-zawn: a modest woman, calm, composed
Razeen/Razine: ruh-zeen: same meaning as above
Sabrine: suh-breen patient
Sabria/Sabriyya/Sabriya: suh-bree-yuh: patient
Sakeena: suh-kee-nuh: calm, peaceful
Samina: suh-mee-nuh valuable, expensive,another common mixed couple name
Samira: suh-mee-ruh one who converses by moonlight, another mixed couple name
Sara: saa-ruh, a shawl in Arabic, a star in Persian, another mixed couple common one; it means princess in Hebrew, too.
Soraya: the stars the Pleides
Tamara: tumm-aa-ruh, female date seller,
Talia: taa-lee-yuh: start, outset, beginning, like the Mexican singer
Tara: taa-ruh Persian and Urdu: star
Yasmin: yuss-meen: jasmine, always a crowd pleaser with the mixed couples
Zaina: zane-uh: beautiful
Zeenah/Zina: zee-nuh: adornment, this is zeenat in Urdu

For boys I have no list, but I like Aliyaan (twice sublime), Ayaan (leaders), Junaid (I know, so 80s, but it is a great name and easy for the goras…it is the diminutive of the arabic for soldier), Firaas (horseman), Jaid (sounds like Jade and from the Arabic word for good) and then there are the mixed couple classics: Adam, Rayaan, Zain which are great!!! I also love Tai (obedient).

thank you, they are both beautiful and its very important if I have a daughter to name her something like ann or anna, its a family name

when I started looking at Pakistani/Indian names, I would make suggestions to my BF (now hubby)

…..

"What about Ashti, Abria, adara, or Ashalina?"

He would say:

"What kind of name is that? I have never heard of it before in my life?"

I would say:

"Hey, they say that Samien is a boys name, have you heard of it?"

He would say "never."

then, I would say:

"what about Jameela," or "Kamila?"

He would say that those names are too old!!!!

so, be careful about those naming sights.

and, he didn't understand my obsession.

It is just fun to look at names from other places.

I have to give it to LuckyFatima,

she is always right on target: with the info and the websites.

Is it a woman thing?

I have always collected baby names.

I like many of those suggested by LF.

I will only add a few of my favorites.

girls:

Kiran (pronounced Keeran) (easy to say) and I believe that it means "child of Hope," in Urdu.

I think that this will be our choice, if I ever get pregnant and have a girl. So, I was surprised to learn that it is a boy's name in Hindi. Hmmm, go figure.

Asha (rhymes with Tasha)

Zari or Zia (but, I think that Zia is a boys name, even though the naming sites have it as a girls name) ,

Zartasha (you could call her Tasha for short)

Sumayra,

Sofiya or Safiya is always common.

What about Shohana

or

Kohana?

Shazia is cute, but very common.

I think it is more common with mixed couples in Brittain.

I liked Sakeena, soraya, or Samina…. But, I am the only one!

(smile)

Boys:

I mentioned Abbitt, but

I guess, it is old, also and is not pronounced like "Abbott," so that ruins that name.

I thought that Kamal and Jamal were the most over used names for mixed couples.

and Kamran is a good name, but it will not be pronounced correctly.

(com ron)

Actually, I like Atiq (Aateek)

there is something about Kashan and Zeeshan that I like, but I admit that they kind of sound African American and some people might be put off by that. But, I am seriously considering "Zeeshan," if I ever have a boy.

there are some Hindi names that I like, but my hubby would never go for a Hindi name since he is Muslim,

so

shanti, Jayanni and Anila will just have to go by the wayside.

Hey, the more you read, the more names you will come across.

I knew a couple who adopted a girl from India and her name was Kalioni and they call her Kali. Okay, they probably named her, but I did see that name (I believe that it was Kaliana) in a book… …  Oh, that was "Water," from Bapsi Sidwa.

But, I am always looking for new and interesting names.

Hey, one possibility is for you to use an American name as the middle name.

someone said that they like the name "Ann" and want it in the family.

I saw that one mixed couple named their child:

"Sara Ann,"

or "Noor Ann,"

So, that is also an option.

and, I found out that

Rani (pronounced Ronnie) is a girl's name I think it means Queen

and

Rana is a boy's name.

Now, I must look at those sites.

THX.

Jan

"here is something about Kashan and Zeeshan that I like, but I admit that they kind of sound African American and some people might be put off by that. But, I am seriously considering "Zeeshan," if I ever have a boy."

Funny, I have looked at boys' Arabic names and it occurs to me that the name "sounds Black" as well. Names are so rich in meaning, markedness, and connotation and a name "sounding black" has a lot of cultural implications, including many negative ones due to racism in our culture. African American sounding names are stigmatized in mainstream white culture. That brings up the reality that what your name is does have an effect on your future. There are multiple studies that show that having a name associated with African Americans or which sounds Asian get less call backs for jobs in the US and Canada. See here and here for some support for that claim. I think it is sad that people should fear affirming their child's ethnic, religious, or racial identity by giving them a distinct, non-white sounding name. We as parents make choices that will deeply affect our children's lives, names being a major one. 

I do like Zeeshan, though. I think some Pakistanis might find it to be an "80's" sounding name, but it is "good sounding" and easy to say in the American context, has a good meaning, and is a nice name generally. I have never heard of Kashan.

"It seems like many Urdu word names put on the "t" and I want to take it off.

(smile)"

Arabic words ending in "ta marboota" which entered the Urdu language through Persian have the final /t/ pronounced, while in Arabic that final /t/ is silent until it serves a grammatically connective function, and only then is the /t/ pronounced. When the "ta marboota" is transcribed in English, many people use an /h/ rather than a /t/ since it is silent. But the /t/ is written and pronounced in Urdu and you see that in names. So in Arabic you have Rahmah/Rahma, in Urdu the same name is Rahmat…Zeenah is Zeenat, etc. My oldest daughter's name is a word that ends in "te" or /t/ sound in Urdu as an Urdu word, but we left off the /t/ and opted for the Arabic pronunciation. In Urdu we spell it with "chotee he" and that confuses people. But that's okay, it is a sound name and we just say "That's how it is in Arabic" (even though it ends in "ta marboota" in Arabic, not he). But since "being that way in Arabic" sounds authoritative and important, no one ever questions beyond that :-)

LF got me thinking about "Kashan," He is from Peshaywar.  Which reminds me that  Pakistan (and I am sure, India, as well) is so diverse that there are common names: but there are also lots of names that will be common to specific regions. Sorry, I don't know about the name Aryan.