Shakespeare said, 'What is there in a name? The rose by any other name will smell as sweet’.
Is that true?
Names have been used by humans since early times. Even when communication was limited to body language and gestures, our ancestors used some name to refer to things and animals. In any language, the most powerful words are nouns or, ‘naming’ words.
What is the need for a name?
Humans needed a common sound to identify things as they were and to make people understand them in the way, they understood them. And, the ‘name’ was invented. Initially, names were perhaps onomatopoeic, based on the sound they made or the sound they stood for -- such as ‘bow-vow’ (dog), ‘Mew–mew’ (cat), Coo-coo (cuckoo) and kaw kaw (crow). Name was used to define a thing as ‘this is that’ and ‘nothing but that’.
Names are among the most useful inventions of man. Even animals respond to names. A dog that darts towards a newcomer, becomes quiet and runs to lick its master’s hand when addressed as ‘Tiger’ or ‘Jimmy’.
However, we cannot say that everyone likes her/his name.
Some nicknames, especially, are offensive and cause a lot of anger and irritation. On the other hand, some names are endearing and create goodwill.
There are many categories of names –– those that are liked, those that are hated, those that are respectful and those that are derogatory, and those that refer to one’s designation or position. Surprisingly, some people think it is disrespectful if somebody calls them by their name. They would rather like to be referred to by their title or designation.
Most names have their origins in some ancient language. For example, ‘Benjamin’ is taken from Hebrew, ‘Andrew’ from Greek and ‘Albert’ from German. In the beginning, names had meaning or, were associated with an incident. For instance, ‘David’ meant ‘the loved one’; ‘Susan’ meant ‘the lily’ and ‘Margaret’ meant ‘the pearl’.
Indian names have originated from various sources. However, there is a significant influence of Sanskrit in many Indian names. Sanskrit is a veritable treasure trove of names. In the stories, even forests and animals have names. In a story from The Panchatantra, the lion is called Pingalaka, the bull is Sanjeevaka and the jackals are Karataka and Damanaka.
Even names that sound grand and have an impressive meaning or association get mutilated in common conversation. ‘Panchapagesan’, which means ‘the lord of the five rivers’, becomes ‘Panju’ meaning ‘cotton’. In many cases, the mutilated form does not mean anything: as when ‘Krishnamoorthy’ becomes ‘Kittu’, ‘Kodhandaraman’ becomes ‘Gondu’ and ‘Lakshmi’ becomes ‘Lachi’.
So also, Elizabeth becomes ‘Eliza’, ‘Lizzy’ or ‘Betsy’, Richard becomes ‘Dick’, Robert becomes ‘Bob’ and William becomes ‘Bill’.
When we analyse the names of the characters in the epics and scriptures, we come to know that most of the names have their origins in animals or birds.
‘Bharadwaj’ meant the skylark, ‘Kowshik’ meant the owl, ‘Kashyap’ meant the tortoise (Kachchap) and ‘Mathanga’ meant an elephant. The same is the case with the names of the Upanishads. The Taitriya Upanishad derives its name from ‘titri’ birds (partridges) and the Mandukya Upanishad from ‘mandooka’ (frog).
The names of characters in the epics are no different.
‘Nakul’ is a mongoose. ‘Drona’ is a basket (It is believed that he was born in a basket). In Tamil too, we use the word ‘dhonnai’ (தொனà¯à®©à¯ˆ) to refer to a small container made of plantain leaves.
‘Dhritarashtra’ deserved his name more than anybody else. The name meant -- ‘the one who held on to his kingdom’. How he struggled and how much misery he caused to himself and others because of his desire to hold on to the kingdom!
Vyasa seems to show his disapproval when he names ‘Duryodhan’ and ‘Dusshashan’, so. ‘Dur’ in Sanskrit means ‘difficult’ as well as ‘bad’.
In South India, we have the system of naming grandchildren after grandparents. That is why the grandson is called ‘paeran’( the one who took his name) and the granddaughter (paethi) (the one who took her name). This is probably why we have thousands of Subramanians, Ramachandrans, Krishnamurthys, Kamakshis, Lakshmis and Saraswathis.
However, the trend has changed now. The book containing the names of babies is a best-seller. Some people wish that the name should begin with a particular letter, based on the date of birth of a baby or its birth star. And, parents end up giving sweet sounding pompous names to children without even knowing the meaning. In some cases, parents themselves cannot pronounce the names of their children.
Names will continue to be important as long as human civilization is alive. We feel happy when someone remembers our name after many years. It is said that even the Lord is immensely pleased when people utter His thousand names. Hence, we have ‘Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam’ and ‘Sri Lalitha Sahasranamam’. The Azhwars have sung the praise of the efficacy of God’s name --- ‘நலம௠தரà¯à®®à¯ சொலà¯à®²à¯ˆ நான௠கணà¯à®Ÿà¯ கொணà¯à®Ÿà¯‡à®©à¯, நாராயணா எனà¯à®©à¯à®®à¯ நாமமà¯!’ Purandara Dasa goes beyond this when he tells God, ‘Why do I need you and your greatness? It is enough if I have your name.’ (Neen Yaako Ninna Hang Yaako, Ninna Naamadha Balavondhu Idhare Saako’).
Coming back to Shakespeare, the rose may smell as sweet by any other name, but will we recognise Shakespeare by any other name?
Reference: 'Sociology of Names' by Prof. R.K. Koul