Every now and then we get asked why we gave our son an American name. Actually people in India asked why did we give him a Christian name. People here ask why did we not give him an Indian name. So here is the story.
Keyoor and I were looking for a name that was easy to pronounce and easily recognizable. Since we both have difficult names we wanted a simple name for our child. There are two indian boy names that are also american boy names. I didn't care for either of those names although liked one of them. We set a deadline and if we didn't have a name by said date we would pick one of the two known names. Since I was determined to find a different name, I got out my Hindu name book and read every name starting at the beginning with the letter A. I bought the Hindu name book when Keyoor and I took our first trip to India as a married couple back in 1998. Finally I got to use it.
It wasn't just the name that mattered to us, I also wanted a good meaning, a religious meaning. So when I came across the name NATHAN, I knew it was perfect. As soon as I said it Keyoor and I knew it was THE NAME. I never looked at names after that.
The Hindu meaning for Nathan is Lord Krishna. The American meaning is Given by God. We truly feel Nathan is our gift from God so the name is so perfect.
