Why have Priyanka Chopra, Nick Jonas named their baby Malti Marie Chopra Jonas; a cue for parents on naming babies – Times of India

Malti Marie Chopra Jonas- Welcome the baby daughter of Priyanka and Nick who will be holding on to two different cultures and traditions not just in her genes, but with her name too.

Priyanka-Nick’s daughter has two first names: Malti and Marie.

“Malti” comes from Madhumalti Chopra, Priyanka’s mother and “Marie” comes from Denise Marie Miller Jonas, Nick’s mother.

Naming a child

In Indian tradition naming a child or Naamkaran holds religious significance. Children are named based on the star and constellation they are born under, or the astrological sign they have, or the names of their parents, or names of their grandparents.

In many households, children are named after a deceased person who had passed away a few days before the child’s birth.

In other households, the names come from religious groups to which the family is devoted to.

Kids in India are named after Gods too.

Many kids have two names: one is the official one, the other one is the pet one- the one exclusively for family members to address.

We love naming kids. The ‘Tapasya’ for school friends, may be ‘Laadli’ for her mom, ‘Pari’ for her dad, ‘Raani’ for her grandmother and ‘Gudiya’ for her grandfather.

Taking mother’s name

In many parts of the country, kids are given two first names: the first part of the name is the unique name of the child and the second part of the name is either the father or the mother’s name. This practice is also seen in Indian marriages, where a wife carries the name of her husband along with his surname in her own name.

Decades back, it was only the father’s name along with the child’s name that was carried in government records, but these days kids willfully take their mother’s name to their names.

Better access to education, more women getting job oriented, more women being bold enough to leave abusive marriages, more women exercising their opinion over illogical patriarchy are few of the good changes that are actually helping kids to take up their mother’s name along with their name.

In that line, many women are preferring to not change their names after wedding and deciding to move ahead with their parents name.

Kids these days are taking steps to give their moms’ recognition and not just being a member of the family whose role is confined within the four walls of the house.

The suppressed debate over a mother’s role has erupted aggressively since the last few decades and one giant step at a time is being taken to smash patriarchy.