What's your name again?

After nine months of anxious anticipation, Saima and Rahat welcomed a beautiful baby girl. No sooner was she was born that the girl was the apple of everyone's eyes; she truly was a bundle of joy.

After the initial merriment following her birth, one matter greatly troubled those around her. The first-time grandparents (both Saima's and Rahat's parents respectively) were rather vexed. Her only aunt and two uncles were equally worried; the brothers almost had a row about the vexing matter.

The new parents, needless to say, had their own problems to deal with. In a matter of twenty-four hours, the family that was in great celebratory mood was facing a divide due to this disagreement.

From outside one might draw all sorts of wrong conclusions about this scenario, presuming serious underlying problems. However, it wasn't so. You see, the child's birth had to be registered and for which the hospital requested her name. This formality, however, was not minor by any stretch of the imagination, for every member of this family had an opinion regarding what the child would be called.

Rahat's parents intended to name their first granddaughter after his great-grandmother Razia. On the other hand, Saima's father has long since picked out the name Samia, which rhymes with the child's mother's name.

Saima's elder brother wanted to call his niece Zaara, but the younger one insisted on calling her Suhana. Rahat's sister thought her parents' name of choice was old-fashioned and wanted a trendy but traditional name for her niece. Amidst such chaos, both Saima and Rahat did not have the heart to tell everyone that they already picked out the name Sarah, which perfectly combines both their names.

The aforementioned scenario is quite a common phenomenon to new parents pretty much everywhere. Naming a newborn is quite the ordeal; a matter that baffles even the most astute of us all. A person's name holds more significance than we want to give it credit for. A good name creates a favourable first impression, shapes one's personality and sets one on a positive course of life.

What's more, a name that has a beautiful meaning and nice ring to it may garner affirmative response from others in many aspect of life. Not to disagree with the great Bard here, but there is indeed a lot more to a name. This is why it is a crying shame when parents or relatives, in some cases, choose to pass on a name that will hinder a child's well being for the rest of his or her life.

Many parents get caught up with the allure of complicated, lengthy names that have profound meanings, but little do they realise that the child will have to carry the burden of a difficult name all through his life. Especially awkward is when a little boy has an old-fashioned, solemn sounding name that would befit an octogenarian! 

A lot of times, many parents in an effort to pick a unique name, end up choosing strange, foreign names that mean one thing in one language and something completely different in another! All the good impression and poise of a good name gets lost in translation there.

Then there are some parents who, while trying to be cute, end up naming their children silly, hilarious names. Imagine the life of a boy whose parents fondly named him Pupu, or the girl who's called Pipi! Cutesy little nicknames like Kutu, Putu and Tutu are fine so long as their usage is restricted to close family members and not made public.

A nickname is very personal and hence should be used by closest ones only. If you are a new parent who is looking for names, choose one that is unique, melodious and has a good meaning. Bear in mind that your child will be known by it for the length of his or her life, so choose wisely and kindly!       

Photo: Collected