Sunama

All parents wish to give a unique and meaningful name to their child. In India, a Sanskrit name is mostly preferred. Often parents turn to the Internet, which is replete with misinformation on Sanskrit names. Popular name websites too mispresent meaning of many Sanskrit words and sometimes even list names from other languages, presenting them as Sanskrit. Some bestselling books on Sanskrit names also carry such mistakes. Parents are misled by such sources and end up giving a kunama (‘a bad name’) to their child.

Each Sanskrit sunama—or ‘a good name’—has a mathematical derivation (vyutpatti) and/or a mystical explanation (nirukti). This work by Sanskrit scholar Nityananda Misra is a wonderful collection of more than 3,000 sunamas, most of which are rare or unused today. He studied more than 70,000 names in seventy-seven authentic Sanskrit texts, including seven Vedic sa?hitas, ten Pura?as, the Ramaya?a, the Mahabharata, seven ko?as, three grammar works and thirty-eight sahasranamas for this compilation. Each name entry includes the Devanagari and IAST spellings, gender, meaning, and the person or deity to whom the name belongs.

A work of immense dedication and accurate research, this is a must-have for parents seeking unique names for their child.