From Anna Banana to Andy Pand(e)y!
Pune is a dangerous place to be at the moment. Why, you ask? Because everyone seems to be having a baby! After another announcement yesterday, that makes four of my friends and counting! I hope there isn’t something in the air – perhaps I should vacate Pune for some time? Anyway, I’m thrilled for them all and my first question for all my friends as soon as they inform me of their pregnancy is always the same: “Have you thought of a name yet?”
Ever since I can remember I have been fascinated by names. I dread to think what will happen whenever I have a baby myself – no doubt the entire nine months will be spent discussing the subject of names and scouring book after book of baby names. This problem will be made even worse given that I now have two different sources of names to choose from – British names and Indian names!
What’s more, having had to put up with the nickname “Anna Banana” during my childhood, I am unusually sensitive to the effects a name can have on a person. In fact, I got so fed up of my nickname that I decided to change my name to “Anik” (pronounced “A-neek” – the name that my mother considered before settling on Anna). When I proudly announced this to my friends, they responded, “Oh well, we’ll call you ‘Anik the leek’ then”. So Anna Banana I remained.
However, it could have been a lot worse. An article I read recently on the BBC website describes the findings of research into the UK’s “most unfortunate” names (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7909561.stm). Just imagine having to grow up with a name like “Justin Case” or “Terry Bull”. Reading this article did teach me another thing however – that those with the right attitude can use an ‘unfortunate’ name to their advantage. Perhaps Stan Still, who describes his name as being “a blooming millstone around my neck my entire life” could learn something from Jo King, who has this to say about her name, “I personally love my name as it makes people laugh and at least no-one will forget it! I’d never consider it unfortunate, it’s just funny”.
Having said that, if I have a son there is no way that I would call him “Andy”. Besides sounding funny, Andy Pande rhymes with “Andy Pandy”, the name of the first ever children’s TV character on British television. I am constantly reminded of this fact as certain members of my family have now taken to calling me “Andy Pandy” or even just “Andy”.
Another factor I will have to watch out for is that any name I give to my child should be easily pronounceable by both Brits and Indians. During his time in the UK, my husband Nikhil had to put up with numerous distortions of his name including “Nicky”, “Nickel”, “Mickel” (er, what?) and “Michael”. This last version was particularly popular with an Irish friend of his called “Ellis”. However, he did, unwittingly, manage to get his own back by calling “Ellis” (a man) by the girl’s name “Alice”!
What’s more, any name I choose must not have any double meaning in Hindi, Marathi or English. I could not, for example, call my son “Harsh” or “Sham”. Unfortunately it is too late for myself (I have been told that “Anna” means a variety of things in Indian languages including “Grandfather”, “Elder brother” and “Blind”).
Besides all these factors, I will also have to consider which names are ‘trendy’ and which are ‘old-fashioned’ (and preferably choose one which is neither). It is interesting to see the trends in baby names taking place in the different countries – in India, Russian names seem to be in fashion (since coming here I have met 1 Nikita, 1 Natasha, 1 Sasha and 1 Anusha) while in the UK there seems to be a shift towards more traditional names such as Jack and Grace (the top baby names for 2008).
So it seems that choosing a name for any children of mine is going to be something of a minefield (albeit it one that I will negotiate with pleasure). Hopefully I will make the right decision and my child won’t end up with a name to rival Hazel Nutt or Barb Dwyer.
More articles by Anna Pande
- A day for pandemonium - April 1st, 2009
- Restaurant review: Prems - March 27th, 2009
- Don’t kiss kisses goodbye - March 25th, 2009
- Restaurant review: Malaka Spice - March 20th, 2009
- Happy Birthday to Me – celebrating birthdays UK and Indian-style - March 18th, 2009
Anik the leek! I came up with that one, Andy! Remember the book Anna Banana and me? I liked that book. I never liked bananas though, but you did, proving you suited your nickname!
Hey Anna!
My friends called me Thirsty during my childhood, and when “The Simpsons” was really popular in Hong Kong few years ago, they called me “Krusty the clown” !
Kirsty
I have to have a metaphoric nametag for a class this Friday, and it has to do with my name. The only thing I can think of is Anna Banana. Is that a metaphor?