Inca period tunic; Image via Wikipedia

He’s a legendary poet, a ruler, a revolutionary.

Thanks to Frank for suggesting one of the names that inspired his new son’s names.  Our Baby Name of the Day is Amaru.

Amaru instantly makes me think 2Pac – the rapper-turned-actor whose 1996 murder remains unsolved.  But Tupac Amaru Shakur – his mother was an 1960s and 1970s activist and member of the Black Panther Party – was named after the historical figures.

But first came the poet, sometime in the seventh or eighth century.  His Hundred Stanzas, the Amarusataka, are considered a triumph of Sanskrit literature.  Amaru wrote about passion and love, longing and sorrow.

The meaning typically given for Amaru is immortal.  In Sanskrit, amare means without death, so that appears to be accurate.

But there’s another figure, two men, actually, who share the same name.

First came Tupac Amaru, the sixteenth century leader of the Inca state in Peru.  The Spanish conquered the Inca Empire in the 1530s, but some members of the royal family established a stronghold in the Upper Amazon.  After several of his kinsmen died, Tupac Amaru inherited the throne.

Things went sour almost immediately.  Two Spanish ambassadors were killed, and the Spanish Viceroy declared war.  Outarmed and outmanned, Tupac Amaru and his followers sought refuge in the jungle.  He was eventually captured and ordered executed.  It is an order that remains controversial – a Spanish governor ordering the death of a head of state, formerly acknowledged by the authorities.  It is said that Tupac Amaru’s last words were “Mother Earth, witness how my enemies shed my blood.”

There were still plenty of members of the Inca royal family scattered about.  Some were banished to other Spanish colonies, but they survived.  Then along came José Gabriel Condorcanqui, a descendant of the last Inca rule.  He styled himself Tupac Amaru II and led a 1780 uprising against the Spanish.  His rebellion failed, and he met his death by execution a year later, but he became a legendary figure in both the Peruvian struggle for independence, and the movement to grant rights to indigenous peoples.

He’s clearly the Tupac Amaru to inspire others to embrace the names,  but what does Amaru mean?  A few possibilities:

• A few sources suggest that Amaru means strong in the Aymara language.  Along with Quechua, Aymara is one of the native languages of Peru, so that isn’t implausible, but I couldn’t confirm it in a dictionary.
• Most sources seem to link Amaru to a Quechua word for serpent or snake.  Tupac Amaru together is often translated as “royal serpent.”
• It is easy to see a similarity to the Latin amor - love – though it is a coincidence.

All of the meanings are pleasing in their own ways and he’s distinctive without being bizarre.  Two dozen boys received the name in 2010, and I can imagine more in years to come.

I like Amaru, with his upbeat sound.  His Indian-Incan legacy makes him especially appropriate for parents seeking name that span cultural identities.  And his connection to 2Pac?  That makes him more familiar, even if you might struggle to answer “Oh, like the rapper?” in playgroup.