Rekha (and other Indian names)

[WorldAtlasOfTea]

NC for this one - bit too identifying!

DH and I both like Rekha for DC2. It's a bit of a family name for DH. When I hear it, I think of a person and not "wrecker". But that might be exposure.

What is the mumsnet verdict? Is Rekha OK for a DD with Indian heritage growing up in England with a non-rhotic accent?

(Any other suggestions welcome, if you fancy it, for boys or girls. A DS would probably be Nikhil.
Criteria are (all negotiable):

• not beginning with S
  
• no strong sh sound in it
  
• not ending in ee sound
  
• not overtly Hindu/Jain
  
• a real name which is Sanskrit in origin
  
• obvious pronunciation which is roughly the same as that in Hindi/Gujarati)

[Limpetsmum]

Hhhhmmmm, I thought of wrecker to be honest. My husband is terrible at coming up with playground names and maybe it's in the forefront of my mind hence why I think of it. But go with it if you like it, it is a nice name!

[bouncingbelle]

I think it's lovely and don't hear wrecker on my head when I say it!

[joanofarchitrave]

My favourite non-s Indian name is Lakshmi but you might find the sh too strong?

[Monikita]

Know what it's like trying to choose Indian names - our dc are mixed race and as they have dh's (British) surname I wanted them to have something obviously indian that wouldn't get them teased and easy to pronounce.

Think you might struggle to find something sanskrit in origin but not overtly Hindu though.

How about Priya for a girl?
Also love Rohan for a boy.

I have nice associations with Rekha but I don't think pronouncing it with an English accent does it justice.

[WorldAtlasOfTea]

Thanks - glad it isn't a unanimous no!

Thanks for the other suggestions too.

Priya: going on the list.
Lakshmi: no, sorry. Because of the 'sh', because it ends in an 'ee' sound (those two make it sound ridiculous with our surname), and because it's the name of a goddess.
Rohan: I really like, but I think it fails the easily pronounceable test. It's not obvious whether it should be a hard h rather than nothing/verging on w.

The religious thing: something associated with Hindu/Jain Indian culture, or a virtue or custom in those faiths, is fine (and what we're after, really). But we are Christian in faith, so something that is honouring a particular god(ess) isn't ideal. Hope that makes sense.

[smokedgarlic]

What about Tara Nalini Usha Aasha Laranya Jyoti! I have the same problem as you currently trying to decidein name that works nicely in both languages . Dd1 is Mayuri.

[Snowflakesonmynose]

How about Rebecca nn becca?

[Somanyillustrations]

I've never heard Rehka before, but it is absolutely beautiful. I also love Priya.

[WorldAtlasOfTea]

We want something obviously "forrin", if that makes sense. So not Tara or Rebecca.

Mayuri is lovely. Not sure it goes with our surname. What do people think of Mayura? Think a sacred bird is just about the right side of the not-too-Hindu line.

The others are all good. Nothing making me think "yes!, that's the one!", but all going on the list.

Also, not wishing to pick on Somanyillustrations... but how often do you think Rekha will be misspelled/mistyped as Rehka? For some reason, I think it's much easier to misspell than Nikhil. Because it's less common?

[Somanyillustrations]

Sorry! Probably a few times, by idiots like me However, I would think it will be spelt correctly more often than not, simply because the -kha ending is more common than -hka.

Can I blame the number of babies in my friends circle with -shka names as a reason for my mistake please

[WorldAtlasOfTea]

he he! It's really easy to get unfamiliar names wrong, I know! I was thinking that when reading the Eilidh thread. Even when you know how to pronounce it, it's difficult (for me, anyway) to spell. Partly because you don't have that moment where you look at it and think "hmmm that's wrong".

Though I'm more concerned the other way round, to be honest - if you see it written down, can you be pretty confident about the right pronunciation?

[MistletoeBUTNOwine]

We had great difficulty picking ds's name, chose Sachin in the end
I know that doesn't fit your criteria though.

Thought about Taran, Aryan, Raj
Like priya and asha for girls

[Bluestocking]

Rekha is lovely but I think English speakers won't be able to produce the kh sound easily, so it will tend to sound like wrecker.

I love Simran (remembrance), Viveka/Vivika (knowledge/wisdom), Sarita (flowing), Chandani (moonlight).

[myfriendflickadee]

It doesn't quite fit your criteria but I love the name Anahita

[childrensservant]

Ok, I apologise in advance for ignorance regarding your criteria, but here are my favourite names....
Rhitika, Rama, rhianna, maya, jana, mila,
Boys- Saketh, rayan, saif, Yuv,

[WorldAtlasOfTea]

Lots of good names here! And quite a few that are already in use in close family, too.

Bluestocking I think we're going to go with an anglicised version of pronunciation (so non-rhotic "wrecker") anyway. DH and I are both English speaking, and living where we do, DC won't come across that many speakers of Indian languages outside the family. I think it sounds nicer with the proper "kh", but recognisable with a hard "k". Unlike for e.g. Amala, where the natural pronunciation for an English speaker is "aMAHluh".

[minipie]

I know a Rekha, never thought wrecker. it's pronounced more like Ray-ka isn't it? which does make the Rehka misspelling more likely as that's how it's said iyswim, reh-ka.

other ideas:

Anika
Anaiya
Sarita

Mayura is very pretty.

[WorldAtlasOfTea]

Yeah, somewhere between "rekka" and "rayka" but with a softer "k" somewhere towards the "ch" in "loch". Or something like that. I think we'd have to expect her to be called "rekka" by pretty much everyone though! And idswym re the spelling.

Mayura is growing on me. Think we'd need a shorter nickname though - May?

[Alisvolatpropiis]

Priya! Choose Priya! It is so pretty.

[mammmamia]

Anaya is VERY popular among people with your criteria. I'm similar to you (I think) and I know about 6.

[mammmamia]

Rekha and Priya both lovely (quite old school so people with those names are mostly in their 30s and older) but still nice.

[mammmamia]

How about Yahvi? Is Sanskrit I think.

[SevenZarkSeven]

Depends where you live maybe?

I've known 2 rekha's and never thought "wrecker" even though I almost certainly can't pronounce it correctly!

I think it's a nice name anyway

[SevenZarkSeven]

priya is lovely

[TheHorseHasBolted]

I used to know a Hemalata who said her name meant "golden money plant" - so culturally Indian but not particularly religious - would that work?