Comments on: Name of the Day: Taj

By: SophieGray

SophieGray — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 08:07:22 +0000

I’m not a big fan of one syllable names, especially on boys, so Taj isn’t really for me. I teach a little Taj this year – his last name is Greek too, so it looks a little bit mismatched !

By: photoquilty

photoquilty — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 19:16:00 +0000

Oh yeah, a friend of my parents dated Taj Mahal for a while. Isn’t that funny?

By: Julie

Julie — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:31:06 +0000

There’s a pretty well-known American blues musican called Taj Mahal, (born the well-named Henry Saint Clair Fredericks.) He’s preformed for over 40 years, so I wonder if he’s a namesake for some of the African American children named Taj?

By: Allison

Allison — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:02:37 +0000

Not my style, but it does have that sort of “Way rad, Brah!” surfer kind of vibe to it. A modern Jeff Spicoli, brother to Kai or Jace. I’m not big on one-syllable names in general, but three letters is definitely too insubstantial for me.

By: Sebastiane

Sebastiane — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:28:16 +0000

He would also make a great brother name for Jai.

By: Emmy Jo

Emmy Jo — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 05:27:38 +0000

Taj is cool, and you’re right — Kai and Taj would be handsome brothers.

By: photoquilty

photoquilty — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 03:45:23 +0000

I never really linked this name to India, probably because I have known two boys named Taj and one name Tahj and they were all black children. I hate to stereotype people, but I assumed it was one of those names reserved for people of African descent, kind of like Nichelle (I’ve known two Nichelles) and Kenya (I’ve known three Kenyas). Thinking about it, and reading your post, Abby, it’s like a “duh!” moment. Obviously it’s related to India! I really could have put that together had I thought about it long enough.

It’s not a name I’d choose (shocker, right? I’m always a downer.) but has a smooth sound, and is interesting because it ends with a J. The only other name I can think of like that is Raj, from What’s Happening?, that 1970s TV show. (Hey Abby, that reminds me: what about Rerun for NotD? Just joshing you!) I confess to thinking his name was Roger and people called him Rog when I was younger. I think Raj has some sort of royal connection, too. Raj, Raja, something like that.

The whole Tahj thing is weird. I don’t like the placement of that H and would rather just see Taj.

By: JNE

JNE — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 01:34:15 +0000

This one is not for me. It’s not offensive to me in any way, it’s simply not one I’d use. The name has a strong link in my mind to India and my family is not linked India or the Middle East, so I’d probably shy away from it for the reason, partially… and maybe also because I have a tendency to go for longer names. I’ve only heard it on a woman in the past, but it seemed like a masculine name to me even then, just by the sound. It’s very interesting to read that it has entered the top 1000 – there are other more familiar names to me that have never been that popular. An interesting name, indeed.

By: Sebastiane

Sebastiane — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:39:48 +0000

This is a cool name. I am not sure I’d ever use it myself, but would think it an interesting choice on someone else.