You don’t have to be German to name your daughter Emma, and plenty of girls called Zoe will never set foot in Greece.
Could this Indian appellation become the next culture-crossing import?
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[…] of those baby Anjalis are almost certainly of Indian descent, but with names like Priya and Bodhi under consideration by non-Indian parents captivated by their sounds and meanings, Anjali […]
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[…] to Nisha, a Subcontinent staple.
My daughter’s name is Priya Charisse – and she’s the whitest little girl I know.
My daughter’s name is Priya Juliette. I Ann Caucasian and her mother is Taiwanese.
That’s a lovely name, Michael!
It’s funny, I’m Indian-American and have never had a positive association with the name Priya… I guess I’ve met too many unpleasant Priyas in my life (no offense to the nice ones!). But it’s definitely a plain-Jane name for a girl of Indian descent — like an Ashley or a Jessica born in the late 80’s/ 90’s in the US.
Three cheers for Indian names making their way west… We just named my 2nd daughter Cerys Anjali (and we’re not Welsh OR Indian) – my partner just loved the sound of Anjali and I am in love with the meaning of Cerys as well as the sound.
I’ve long loved Anjali, too – do you remember this random sitar-to-dance-music thing that was making the rounds in the early 90s? I can’t remember exactly, but I think it was a musician called Anjali. Cerys Anjali is a great name!
Hey my name’s Jennette ! My middle name is Preeya , its weird because Im a white girl with blonde hair and blue eyes ! But I still love it , but doesn’t this name come from the Latin origin , I didn’t know it was from the indian origin TOO . 😀 Haha ,my sister’s name is Amberaina Reena , Its really unique and I love it , I wish I could have her name !
I love your comment about Priya sounding like Sarah to you Charlotte Vera! I was just having a conversation with one of my friends about how many Sarah’s we went to school with and how for her sister it was Jessica’s. I always wonder what would happen if you name your child something popular in a different country, but rare in the US and they end up moving there later in life.
Sad that Dollhouse didn’t hang on longer, that show was chalk full of amazing names including this one. Super interesting post!
As far as I know, Priya would be spelt the same in both its feminine and its masculine usage. Coming across a male Priya would be highly unusual, since the name’s become such a popular choice amongst parents of baby girls. Also, while Priyadarshan and Priyaranjan are boy’s names, it would probably be less surprising to come across a Priyadarshani (I know one) or a Priyaranjani/Priyaranjana (I don’t know one, but I’ve female friends named both simply Anjana and the more complicated Anuranjana).
I’m sorry to say that, since I grew up in India, Priya sounds like Sarah to me: a pretty name, but far-too commonplace for my tastes.
I think Priya is pretty, but not something I would probably use. I once thought it only suited someone with the proper heritage, but a sister of my friend has a two year old named Priya, a blonde-hair blue-eyed cutie. It made me like it a lot more.
hey! my name is priya…………………..n i love my name!!!!!
hey…so is mine hehe….i love my name it makes me so happy at times 😀 btw i was actually looking up my name one day and it said priya is naturally a punjabi name…is that true or is it natually from another one of are hindu religions?????
thanks for doing the research! i really love the name priya…and have met several lovely priyas over the years.
All I hear is “Prius” like the Toyota. I think Priya is pretty, but that similarity turns me off somewhat.
The name totally says “Car!” to me too. I could see using it if you wanted to honor Indian heritage, but otherwise it’s not my thing.
I worked with a lovely Indian Priya, so I have very warm associations with this name.
Priya is one of my favorite Indian female names, I also love the similar Priyanka.