It's All in a Name

Understanding the naming conventions of non-European cultures is important for an investigator or anyone wishing to certainly and correctly identify people in our diverse country. The following column information is an attempt to assist the reader in correctly applying the conventions of uniquely ethnic names so identification is possible. This article should not be interpreted as indicating any unusual prevalence of any specific ethnic group toward unlawful or immoral activities, since no such intention exists. In coming issues of The John Cooke Fraud Report, we will explore the mysteries of the naming practices of many ethnic cultures. In this issue, we look at the various naming traditions of the Indian and Pakistani people.

India is one of the most linguistically diverse places in today's world: from the northern regions -- where there are more than 500 languages descended from Indo-European roots -- to the southern region -- with over 50 languages derived from the Dravidian family. Additionally, there are several different religious groups all with their own traditions. So it stands to reason that naming traditions would vary widely throughout the country.

For example, in the northern Indian continent, including the areas of Pakistan and Bangladesh, there is a strong Muslim tradition. Naming in this region is based on religion. All men receive a first name of Mohammad (Although In Bangladesh, the name is spelled Mohammed). The name is usually abbreviated as MD. Next, there is a personal name, followed by a family name. Women on the other hand, do not receive a family name. Until women marry, they have only two names, a religious name (taken from the Prophet's wives and daughters) and a personal name. When a woman marries, she takes her husband's name. Personal
names are chosen to have a good strong meaning and are taken from the Koran.

Also in northern India live the Sikhs. All Sikh men have a last name of Singh (lion) while all Sikh women have a last name of Kaur (princess). First names are chosen by opening the writings of Guru Arjun at random. The name is not chosen directly from the book, however. Rather, a forename is chosen that begins with the same letter as the first word of the first line on the left hand page. The names are unisex, given to both boys and girls.

Names such as Chatterjee or Bhatterjee reflect the caste system and are given to those of the highest social group, the Brahmins. The name Patel is found in Bombay and Gujarat and signifies a business man.

Some of the longest names in the world come from Southern India where the individual's name is almost a personal history, taking into account his personal name, his father's name, his grandfather's name, the village he comes from, his profession, etc.

In other parts of India, people have only two names, a given name and a family name. The woman takes her husband's name when she marries and her first name is often changed to harmonize with her new last name, often with the help of numerology. Children are given their father's last name and remain with the family even after they are grown. Women remain with the family until they marry.

Common last names include:
Singh, Patel, Shah, Varma, Rao, Kumar, Krishnan, Rajan, Venkatram, Gupta, Prakash, Agarwal, Jain, Mukurjee, Bhattacharya, Wadwani, Adwani.

Common male first names may include:
Sandeep, Rajiv, Vijay, Sanjiv, Haresh, Shalesh, Naresh, Mukesh, Danesh, Narsing, Raj.

Common names for women include:
Laxmi, Usha, Durga, Parvati.

As often happens with immigrants, Indian nationals may change their names to blend in with the surrounding culture. Names are often Americanized to make them easier to pronounce and to avoid the stigma of an unusual name, particularly when a child goes to school. A name like Mahinder may be changed to Mike or Rajiv may become Ray.

Although these names generally have an underlying meaning, and so are less likely to be changed lightly, with the various languages and dialects that exist in this area, there are also variations on the common names. Sometimes a name may be almost the same in different areas with only one or two letters different. For example, Varma may become Verma; Srinivasan may become Sreenivasan or Srinivasa; Agarwal may become Agrawal or Aggarwal. The difference may be regional, such as the addition of an "a" to Singh in the southern part of the country to form Singha or to Narsing to form Narsinga.
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Also of interest is the possible confusion that can result when people have the same name. For example, take the case of the three Indian roommates who had the exact same name. The very good driving record of one was nearly ruined by the many accidents sustained by his less-careful roommate. The mix-up was finally straightened out using the men's social security numbers. While an underwriter or adjuster would not be alarmed and would know to check further when faced with a questionable record in the name of say "John Smith," that same underwriter or adjuster would likely become concerned by a questionable record in the
name of Rajiv Patel, not realizing that the two names are similar in the number of times they might occur. With some names, such as Singh, the name may be even more common than Smith.

Hindi, one of the main languages of the Indian continent, uses 12 vowels and 36 consonants. A commonly used transcription system is that of the Royal Asiatic Society. Pronunciation is very similar to English, but with some important variations: c is pronounced as in "chip," while g is pronounced as in "gate." The combinations of dh, gh, ch, th, ph, etc., have the h sound, half-separated as in "white house" or "big hat." Some letters include extra marks such as a dot or an accent which change the pronunciation. An r or an l with a dot underneath is sounded almost as though it includes the vowel i as in "ri" or "li." An n~ is pronounced as a nasal sound, closely connected to the sound that follows.

As you can see from the above information, trying to sort out the naming traditions of this part of the world can be a real headache. With the variety of languages and religious customs, it is difficult to make any useful generalizations. The majority of the fraudulent claims submitted from this group are of the life/health/disability variety. Although it may change, as far as we know, there is very little showing up in the way organized
auto accident fraud.

The insurance professional faced with a claim from this area would be well advised to consult an expert in these naming customs. When faced with such a claim here in the US, we will be glad to share what we know.

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In our September/October 1995 issue, we addressed the subject of Indian names. Since that time, we have discovered even more information of interest to investigators.

As we noted previously, India is one of the most linguistically diverse places in the world. There are more than 500 separate languages spoken in the northern areas, all descended from IndoEuropean roots. The southern area is home to over 50 languages derived from the Dravidian family. Where the two language families meet in central India, the languages consist of a blending of the two roots. For example, the central Indian language of Telegu is estimated to be about 40 percent Dravidian and 60 percent Indo-European. It is thought that the continent was originally populated by Dravidian-speakers who were supplanted by Indo-Europeans who arrived later.

As with other non-Western cultures, some of the traditions are quite different from what we may be used to. Traditionally, for example, most Indians did not have last names. Faced with the need to pick a name, these people used a variety of methods.

One method involved caste names or subcaste names. Caste names reflect the traditional occupational or social status of the person. Mohandas Gandhi, the famous Indian leader, belonged to the Gandhi caste. However, while Gandhi means "grocer," Mohandas Gandhi was a lawyer by trade. Other examples of caste names are Patel, Iyer and Mudaliar. Subcaste names are similar but take the identification a step further. Kamath and Shenoy are both Konkani Brahmin names.

Others have used town names, descriptions of their ancestral homes, or variations on a patronymic; some have split a longer name to make a first and last name; some simply invented a last name.

Not only are the linguistic traditions varied, but there are also several different religions practiced by the people of India and Pakistan, all of which have their own traditions. Followers of some of these religions name children after their own particular gods and goddesses. Consequently, the naming traditions vary widely throughout the country.

Hindu naming traditions have some similarity to western traditions in that there is a personal name, a middle name and a last name. The personal or given name usually denotes the gender of the person. Boys names, taken from the names of gods, generally have two syllables, eg. Gopal, Hari or Shiva. Girls names, taken from goddesses or flowers, generally have three syllables and end in either i or a. The middle name, which originated as a title of respect among the higher caste Hindus, is similar to a second Christian name. Erroneously listing this name as the surname can cause problems since the name is not shared by other family members. The last name is similar to a western surname. Because the same name is given to all members of a subdivision of a caste in a particular geographic area (a subcaste), it can offer some idea as to the traditional occupation and social rank of the owner.

Typical Hindu personal names might include Anil, Binoy or Dinesh for a male and Aruna, Bimla or Indira for a female. Middle names for boys could be Bhai, Chand or Kumar, and Devi, Kumari or Rani for girls. Typical last names in this group might include Gupta, Mehta or Patel.

The Gujerati group of Hindus practice a variation on the above naming traditions. Although the rules are the same for women, the pattern for male names combines the personal and middle names into one first name and the father's given and middle names as a middle name. For example, if the chosen names for the son are Anil Das and his father's names are Ram Chand, the son's name will be Anildas Ramchand followed by the last name.

Another group of Hindus adhere to the Sikh religion, which does not practice the caste system. Sikh names all include a religious name: Singh (lion) for males or Kaur (princess) for females. The basic naming pattern uses a personal name, followed by the religious name and a last name. The personal names, while similar to those used by other Hindus, do not differentiate between males and females. The religious name, Singh or Kaur as noted above, can cause confusion since it is kept regardless of the marital status of the person. The last name, as with other Hindus, is a subcaste name, reflecting occupation and social status. Sikhs often drop this name, because they do not practice the caste system, going by only their personal and religious names. This can cause confusion since all men are Singh and all women Kaur. This possibility for confusion may prompt some Sikhs to use the last name some or all of the time.

Typical Sikh personal names include Ajit, Devinder or Mohinder. The religious names are Singh for men and Kaur for women. Last names might include Mann, Sidhu or Grewal.

Indian Moslems use a complex naming system that does not follow the pattern of personal, middle and clan or family names but contains a religious name, a personal name and sometimes a family or regional name. Names are generally Arabic and are taken from the Koran with some mixing in of Hindu names; some also come from the Old Testament. The religious name is usually one of the ninety-nine names of God found in the Koran. It is never used as a personal name. The personal name is used in a manner similar to our Christian names; however, if the person has no clan/family name, he may use the personal name as his surname. If the family has a clan, regional or family name, this is used as a surname. The names are used in no set order. The personal name can be first or second. It can be between two religious names. To find
out the personal name, you must ask what the individual's family and friends use and what name he prefers as a surname. Women traditionally do not adopt their husband's name on marriage so each individual in the family can have a different name. Some do adopt the husband's name to avoid confusion.

Typical Moslem religious names include Abdul, Mohammed or Syed. Personal names may be Ali, Gulab or Hasan for males and Ayesha, Fatima or Nasreen for females. Family names, if used, include Khan, Chaudry or Shah.

Some of the longest names in the world come from Southern India where the individual's name is almost a personal history, taking into account his personal name, his father's name, his grandfather's name, his village of origin, his profession, etc.

In some parts of India, people have only two names, a given name and a second name. In these areas, the woman takes her husband's name when she marries and her first name may be changed to harmonize with her new last name, often with the help of numerology. Children are given their father's last name and remain with the family even after they are grown. Women remain with the family until they marry.

As often happens with immigrants, Indian nationals may change their names to blend in with the surrounding culture. Names are often Westernized to make them easier to pronounce and to avoid the stigma of an unusual name, particularly when a child goes to school. A name like Mahinder may be changed to Mike while Rajiv may become Ray.

Although these names generally have an underlying meaning, and are less likely to be readily changed, the varied languages and dialects that exist in this area yield variations on the common names. Sometimes a name may be almost the same in different areas with only one or two letters different. For example, Varma may become Verma; Srinivasan may become Sreenivasan or Srinivasa; Agarwal may become Agrawal or Aggarwal. The difference may be regional, such as the addition of an "a" to Singh in the southern part of the country to form Singha or to Narsing to form Narsinga.

Also of interest is the possible confusion that can result when people have the same name. For example, take the case of the three Indian roommates who had the exact same name. The very good driving record of one was nearly ruined by the many accidents sustained by his less-careful roommate. The mix-up was finally straightened out using the men's social security numbers. While an underwriter or adjuster would not be alarmed and would know to check further when faced with a questionable record in the name of say "John Smith," that same underwriter or adjuster would likely become concerned by a questionable record in the
name of Rajiv Patel, not realizing that the two names are similar in the number of times they might occur. With some names, such as Singh, the name may be even more common than Smith.

Hindi, one of the main languages of the Indian continent, uses 12 vowels and 36 consonants. A commonly used transcription system is that of the Royal Asiatic Society. Pronunciation is very similar to English, but with some important variations: c is pronounced as in "chip," while g is pronounced as in "gate." The combinations of dh, gh, ch, th, ph, etc., have the h sound, half-separated as in "white house" or "big hat." Some letters include extra marks such as a dot or an accent which change the pronunciation. An r or an l with a dot underneath is sounded almost as though it includes the vowel i as in "ri" or "li." An n is pronounced as a nasal sound, closely connected to the sound that follows.

As you can see from the above information, trying to sort out the naming traditions of this part of the world can be a real headache. With the variety of languages and religious customs, it is difficult to make any useful generalizations. The majority of the fraudulent claims submitted from this group are of the life/health/disability variety. Although it may change, as far as we know, there is very little showing up in the way of organized auto accident fraud.

Insurance professionals faced with claims from this area would be well advised to consult an expert in these naming customs. Although we are far from expert, we would be happy to share what we know with anyone interested.

We do have a very long list of Indian personal names, both male and female. The list is much too long to include here because of space limitations. However, if you would like to have a list of Indian first names and what they mean, simply contact us here at The John Cooke Insurance Fraud Report.