(52 KB)
Listen on posterous

Naming something, like companies or products is hard; but naming someone is even harder. There are only a few opportunities to pick a name and so it took Hana and I a lot of deliberation to come up with one. For starters, we wanted a name that could work equally well across multiple continents (North America, Europe and Asia), multiple countries (US, Czech Republic and India) and multiple cultures. It had to work in English, in Czech, and also in Hindi. We also wanted it to be short — no more that 4-5 letters long and no more 2-3 syllables. In addition, it had to be easy to spell and pronounce; so that it doesn't require being spelled out each time.

We went through several naming books (most of which were lent to us by friends or from the Palo Alto Library) and also checked out several websites. However, after months of looking, nothing really stuck. The names that Hana would like, I wouldn't, and vice-versa. There were also a few funny incidents, for example, when Hana was reading through some names in a book and said "Kayla" and I burst out laughing. I could just imagine some of the folks at home in Delhi coming up to me and saying "She is very cute, but why did you name her banana?" (Kela in Hindi means banana!)

We finally decided that we were going to pick a name that had Scandinavian roots. Both of us seemed to like the sounds of Scandinavian names. Anika was one of the names we found amongst the Scandinavian names. It was short, simple, spellable and to top it all it works in all the countries we needed it to work in. It is a Scandinavian name meaning 'Gracious' or 'Merciful' (also a diminutive form of Anne), but it is also a Czech name and a Hindi (Sanskrit) name. In fact, the name has origins and meanings in Hebrew, Latin, Japanese, Sanskrit, Dutch, Indian, Slavic, Czech, Scandinavian, German, Spanish, Danish, and African.

According to WikiNames:

The name Anika has various origins. In Hebrew and Latin, it means “full of Grace” or “favor.” In Japanese, the name means “apricot from Nara.” In Sanskrit, Anika means “army,” “face,” “brilliance” or “form.” The name is also associated with meaning “sweet-faced.”

In Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark, Anika is considered a pet version of the name “Anna.” The name is utilized in Dutch, English, Finnish, Hindi and Swedish speaking countries.

Posted via email from The Kumars