This year, Saanvi, which means Goddess Lakshmi, has overtaken two-time champion Ananya to reach the number one position for baby girl names in India. It is no surprise that many a family choose a name of Goddess Lakshmi for their little daughter, with Aarna, another name of the Goddess, making an appearance in the top 20 girl names as well. After all, baby girls are often considered to bring Lakshmi’s blessings.
Aarav remains the favourite name for boys in India for a third year in a row. Vivaan, too, clings tightly on to the number 2 position for another year.
Modern and more global names are becoming popular for baby girls in India. Myra and Sarah made it to the top 20 baby girl names and though not in the top 20, Aaliya and Aanya just missed out being on the list.
The choice of names for baby boys is more traditional with several of the top 20 baby boy names inspired by ancient Indian scriptures, like the Vedas or the Mahabharata. Atharva and Arjun are ever-popular and religious names like Krishna, Mohammed and Siddhartha are storming the charts at numbers 7, 8 and 14 respectively. Ishaan (another name for Lord Vishnu) moved up several notches.
Names beginning with A are still very popular for both boys and girls. Nearly half the names in the top 20 boy and girl names start with A. Being the first letter of the alphabet, a name starting with A is often considered to bring good luck.
Names inspired by nature remain very popular for baby boys but are gaining ground for parents of girls too. Sun-inspired Vivaan and Vihaan and Arnav meaning ocean are ever popular. For girls, names like Ira, which means earth, Pihu, which is the name of a bird or the chirping of a bird, and Ahaana, meaning the first rays of the sun, are gaining popularity.
Ethereal beings have captured the imagination of many a parent in India with names like Pari and Angel moving several notches higher amongst the baby girl names.
Parents of baby boys choose names by characteristics they would love to see in their little ones. For example, Aarav, which means peaceful; Aryan, which means noble; and Shaurya, which means brave are all names that are high up in the charts.
Baby names are getting shorter every year. Kavya, Ira, Anvi, Sana and Sai made the top 20 girls’ list and Aadi, Ansh, Sai and Dhruv the top boy’s list. Short names are especially in vogue for girls with nine out of the 10 new entrants two syllables long or less.
Many of the top names have alternative spellings. Parents, though in love with the popular name of the day, still want something original for their child. So they settle by giving a different spelling to the popular name to make it more unique. Some parents choose the spelling of their baby’s name based on numerology or their baby’s birth star. So for example, Saanvi is also spelt Sanvi or Riyansh can be spelt Reansh.
Top 20 baby girl names of 2012
| Position | Name | Meaning | Variations of the name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saanvi | Goddess Lakshmi | Sanvi |
| 2 | Angel | Angel | |
| 3 | Pari | Ethereal, fairy | |
| 4 | Diya | Light | Dia |
| 5 | Ananya | Incomparable | Aananya |
| 6 | Aadhya | Goddess Durga | Adhya, Adya, Aadya |
| 7 | Pihu | Chirping of a bird, name of a bird | Peehu, Piu |
| 8 | Khushi | Happiness | Kusi, Khusi |
| 9 | Kavya | Poem | Kaavya |
| 10 | Avni | Earth | Avani |
| 11 | Aditi | Free and unbound | Adeeti, Adhiti |
| 12 | Myra | English: poetic invention Greek: fragrance of myrrh Latin: variation of miranda - admirable, extraordinary variation of mira (sea, ocean) | Mira, Myrah, Myrra, Maira |
| 13 | Sarah | Indian: precious Arabic: princess | Saara, Sara |
| 14 | Ira | Earth; Goddess Saraswati | |
| 15 | Anvi | One who has to be followed, name of the goddess | Anwi |
| 16 | Aarna | Goddess Lakshmi, wave | Arna |
| 17 | Sana | Brilliance, radiance | |
| 18 | Sai | Divine | |
| 19 | Prisha | Beloved, God's gift | Preesha |
| 20 | Ahana | First rays of the sun | Aahana |
Top 20 baby boys names of 2012
| Position | Name | Meaning | Variations of the name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aarav | Peaceful, wisdom, musical note | Arav |
| 2 | Vivaan | First rays of the sun, full of life | Vivan |
| 3 | Aadi | Beginning | Adi, Aditya, Aaditya |
| 4 | Vihaan | Dawn, beginning of a new era | Vihan |
| 5 | Atharv | The first Veda, Ganesh | Atharva |
| 6 | Sai | Divine | |
| 7 | Krishna | Name of Hindu God | Krish |
| 8 | Mohammed | The praised one | Muhammed |
| 9 | Aryan | Noble, illustrious | Aaryan |
| 10 | Arjun | Bright | |
| 11 | Shaurya | Brave | Saurya, Shorya, Shourya |
| 12 | Ishaan | Lord Vishnu, bringer of riches, sun | Ishan |
| 13 | Arnav | Ocean | Aarnav |
| 14 | Siddharth | He who seeks enlightenment,Lord Buddha,one who reaches his goal | Sid |
| 15 | Reyansh | Part of Lord Vishnu, ray of light | Reyaansh, Riyansh, Reansh, |
| 16 | Ayaan | Good luck and destiny | Ayan |
| 17 | Ansh | Portion | |
| 18 | Aayush | Long life | Ayush, Ayushman, Aayushman |
| 19 | Dhruv | Firm, the pole star | Druv |
| 20 | Aarush | First ray of the sun | Arush |
Pet names
We in India love to give pet names to our little ones. Sometimes we are known better by our pet names than by our given names! Below is a list of the ten most popular pet names chosen by our BabyCenter mums. We clubbed all similar sounding or similar meaning pet names to give a more varied list. For example, our top baby pet name is Sweetu, which we have considered the same as Sweety, Sweetheart, or Sweets.| Top 10 baby pet names | ||
|---|---|---|
| Position | Pet name | Variations of the name |
| 1 | Sweetu | Sweety, Sweetheart |
| 2 | Pappu | Papunu, Puppi, Pappulu |
| 3 | Kutti | Kuttu |
| 4 | Chinnu | Chunu, Chinna, Chinh, Chini, Chingu, Chinju |
| 5 | Nonu | Nunu, Nani, Nanhu, Nannu, Nonni, Nanmun |
| 6 | Sonu | Shonu, Shona, Shone, Sona |
| 7 | Babu | Baba, babai |
| 8 | Chiku | The praised one |
| 9 | Chotu | Chota, Choti |
| 10 | Vava | Vivu |
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