Tamil/ South Indian Specific Girl Name Suggestions?

[Palmtrees45]

Any help would be much appreciated!
I have googled it but most websites are showing generic Hindi names, I’m looking for something that is specific to South India and ideally Tamil. Thanks!

I had a Tamil friend called Shivani and always liked the name

Are you or DP from a South Indian culture?

1. Thendral
2. Arulmozhi
3. Thenmozhi
4. Nangai
5. Azhagi

Pure Tamil names are very beautiful but quite literary and traditional. They don't roll off the tongue easily. I have chosen a Sanskrit name for my daughter even though my mother tongue is Tamil. So have many of my friends.

The "zh" sound in particular can trip you up if you are not a native speaker. But having said that you should choose a name because you love it and because it suits your daughter not just for other speakers' convenience

@Amrapaali DH is British Indian of from a Tamil, South Indian background, so our pronunciation will probably need some work! How do you pronounce the “zh” sound? The names you have suggested are really beautiful! I’m just worried about messing up the pronunciation.

*ignore the “of” ^^ I meant to say “from a Tamil, South Indian background…”

Reepal

Amaya
Ashvina
Prisha
Pihu
Bhavna

Have you thought about something that would work well in English as well. Also think about what (if anything) you may want to shorten it to.

@Palmtrees45 here is the "zh" sound :

And here are a few easier names if you fancy

1. Uma
2. Devi
3. Prabha
4. Girls
5. Kasthuri
6. Thamarai

I wouldnt say they are Tamil names but they are quite prevalent in the South

1. Should be Girija not Girls

DD was at school with two girls from a Tamil speaking background called Yoshni and Yoshna... both fairly straightforward for English speakers to pronounce - the only issue was they were the most absolutely identical set of twins I've ever known so for a good year she couldn't figure it out and told me, "the two girls in my class, they're two people, but they've only got one head".

@CoffeeWithCheese Those names are lovely!! Haha the twins looking alike and having such similar names much have been so confusing for everyone!

@Amrapaali Thank you!! The video is really helpful. I think most people will say it as the English Z, but I just think pure Tamil names are absolutely beautiful and preserving culture is so important! I love the richness of the culture & it’s unique language.

I know a Priya and Anuja

@MoChridhe Those are lovely!

Is Iniya Tamil? I quite like that name

@BunnyRuddington That’s really pretty! I’m not too sure if it’s Tamil; I’ll have to research it/ ask around. If anyone knows, please share!

The closest English sound for zh is y. It's a difficult sound even for many Tamil speakers- politicians have cancelled the sound calling it a Brahmin sound.

I don’t know Tamils who use the proper zh sound - it’s considered challenging even in India. In terms of tamil names the following site is really good

m.onlymyhealth.com/baby-names/girl-tamil-baby-names

Meenakshi.

I am from a Tamil background and my DD is Laasya,

Other names amongst cousins/friends of similar origin include
Anusha
Adya
Ahana
Jahnvi
Vaidehi
Vasudha
Shloka
Veena
Vidya
Uma
Bharathi
Jaya
Arabhi
Anuja
Geetanjali
Ramya
Sowmya
Stuti
Divya
Shruti
Dhwani

All of them live in Western countries and pronounciation hasnt been a problem :)

I couldn't find zh on that video, only l.
This video has zh. To me it sounds like English letter r, not like y or z at all.