Which Indian baby boy name more suitable for UK

Avik is my favourite its lovely, such a strong name. Also he could use Vik/Vick as a nickname if he chose which is easy and common as a western name (although he shouldn't have to "westernise" his own name at all)

Vihaan is lovely

If Vihaan is your favourite you should definitely pick that - it’s my favourite too! It has such a lovely soft sound for a beautiful baby but it’s also strong and sensible for a grown up man too. I do think the Vihaan spelling will bypass some issues re Ian/Ryan that you might have with Vian.

Please call your son what you want to call him, not a simplified compromise to appease potential bigots.

I know from later posts it's not pronounced the same way but when I saw your list my brain heard Araf which is the Welsh for slow (the single f is pronounced as a v). That would be the only one I might hesitate slightly on, but again please name your child something that means something to you.

Congratulations. My favourite is Vian/Vihaan.

I've got two kids with Indian names. One gets their name mis-read or mis-remembered as a similar name which is more common in England. The other gets their name mispronounced (a long vowel instead of a short one) by lots of people who hear me and others, including the child in question, say their name regularly.

I get my (very common very English) name shortened against my taste.

I figure that's life.

I think from your options, Vihaan might be the best option because Vian might be pronounced at “Vy-an”

Had a quick google so apologies if they’re not all Indian names, it was from this website…some other suggestions would be:
Ajay
Jai
Neel
Prem
Riaan
Rohan
Sanjay
Siddarth
Sunni
Suresh

Vihaan is a lovely name, really evocative.

I think Vian might be pronounced Ian with a V by many in the UK so if you want the longer A sound I would go for the spelling with the H.

Your other two sound fine for the UK with Avik probably being less likely to be mispronounced.

Hi OP,
Firstly congratulations!
Secondly, as a South Asian myself I would never base my name choices on how other people would pronounce them. That is just my personal opinion. I have a difficult name for many English speakers to pronounce but I simply correct them and move on. My son’s name is a little difficult too but it has such a deep meaning for us and is so beautiful when pronounced correctly that I had no
problem choosing it.
There are so so many beautiful Indian names out there and it would be a shame not to celebrate them. We are living in such a diverse time now that we should be celebrating each other’s cultures and learning from our differences.
Of course you have the freedom to choose but don’t narrow down your choices because of others!

Those who mispronounce ethnic names do so intentionally. It’s a racial micro aggression.
What a load of rubbish, people mispronounce all sorts of names.

I don't think it's always a micro aggression. It is often unintentional as people just don't know how to pronounce it properly. My DH's family have never been able to pronounce my name or my dd's first name correctly. I have never really bothered to correct them so I can't complain. Likewise, lots of people struggle to pronounce our surname. It's just unfamiliar to them.

What is a microagression is when people repeatedly pronounce things incorrectly even when they have been told how to say it. Assuming that there are no particular sounds which are difficult for speakers of other languages to hear/say correctly, there is no possible justification for this.

Just out of sheer nosiness if you weren’t being careful with regards to people saying names properly what would be your top 3 choices?

All nice names but I like Avik best.

Out of your names I think Vian would probably be the hardest to pronounce. I think a lot of people would say it to rhyme with Ryan.

Ooh I didn’t think of that! I think it would be less likely with the Vihaan spelling? But that could be annoying, yeah.

Not that I think names outside the majority language shouldn’t be used - they should and I love hearing them! But if you pick a name like Tadhg when you live in Manchester then people will occasionally mispronounce it or ask how it’s pronounced.

I have three boys with Hindu names and names were chosen for easy pronunciation in English because I have a name which is always mispronounced. Btw I don’t think it’s a micro-aggression, people just say it as they read it and assume the rules of English pronunciation apply. They always make an effort once corrected but I can’t often be bothered to correct.

Out of your names I think Vian would probably be the hardest to pronounce. I think a lot of people would say it to rhyme with Ryan.

Re people mistaking it for a girls name, I’ve found this is a real problem with names people don’t know. I think people just guess so 50% of the time they get it wrong. I’ve found this far more annoying than any mispronunciation.

Someone who has never heard it before or has only heard it once before, just doesn't know yet.

Those things coexist. It's not correct to say that ALL mispronounciation is deliberate.

My colleagues heard my name everyday for ten years and still mispronounced my very easy name. “ ooh don’t be so sensitive”, “I’m not going to remember that. I’ll just call you...”.
Someone started the job with a name no one could ever have heard of because it was entirely made up & would you believe it, everyone made an effort to remember their name.

Age old tale that my husband, family & friends will tell. It’s a thing and always has been. Exactly the reason why people like OP look to anglicise names when everyone else should be courteous enough to learn how to pronounce.

Again, this is really something only those affected by will understand and thus form opinion.

I don't like Avik, naturally my accent highlights the A so its sounds like A Vik. A Dick.

Love Vian, I'd pronounce it Vi-ann is that correct?

I do agree that people now are much better an remembering how to pronounce names.

I worked with a Neel and an Aran - both nice names. They sound good in English and assume they do in Hindi.

Welsh and Irish names get mispronounced all the time. As do English names, if you're not amongst English speakers.