The world popular baby name implies that the name is fairly representative of a large section of people who are interested in that name. Names that are popular in one country will obviously be different from popular baby names of another country. The large cultural gap would naturally account for this.

The names that are currently indicated to be popular will vary not only from country to country but also from year to year. This is because names like fashions are in vogue and acceptable only for a stipulated period of time. As soon as people are tired of a particular trend, the name ceases to be popular and unless you are careful, the baby is saddled with a name he or she has to live with for the rest of its life.

In India, there is tremendous diversity both in culture and linguistics. There are something like 800 odd languages spoken apart from the 15 officially recognized ones. Derivation of names has its source in the classical language Tamil and from its linguistic partners like Kannada, Konkani and Malayalam. Its cousins Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi and Sanskrit have quite a lot in common. So the names that exist fall within the purview of all the languages and an etymological study reveals that the names extend beyond the realm of individual languages because of the common root.

India, which is culturally rich and steeped in religion, is home to Gods and Goddesses. Their names are all time favorites and especially in the south are very popular. Aadidev, Balaram , Balaji, Kannan, Krishnan ,Lakshmi Narayan and Sai Baba are names that resound off many rooftops in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Akhilesh, Ajitesh, Vinayak, Shiva do find a place in other states. Goddesses not to be outdone find their nomenclature in girls. Indira, Jayalakshmi, Kamala, Parvaathi, Sabrina, Sara, Uma, Shyla and Tulasi are pretty common in many households. Arjun of the “Gita” is pretty well represented and in spite of the passage of time, seems to still be very popular. Parth, Kirit or Kirti, Phalgun or Phalguna do hold sway even now.

God Krishna and Goddess Lakshmi have a special attraction. Popular baby names like BalamuraliKrishna, Dwarakanath, Madhusudan, Nandkishore, Radheshyam, Madhav and Yadav are fairly widespread as far as boys are concerned while Lakshmi, Madhumati, Anusree, Bhargavi and Sri Devi are fairly popular names for baby girls.

Flowers and gems are all time favorites and names like Kusum, Pushpa, Lily Malar and Valli are freely resorted to. Ratan, Ratna, Sunil are bestowed upon the young ones in the hope that they will turn out to be like gems. Mother Earth has always had takers and names like Achala, Prithvi, Urvi , Bhuvana and Bhupati can be found in many households.

Traits like beauty and grace often dog the footsteps of the little ones and tagged with such a nomenclature, they are forced to live up to it. Anusha, Ramani, Priyanka, Sabina, Rupasri and Sushma are some popular baby names. Parts of the body like the eye and feet and names equivalent to “king” and “friend” are also prevalent. All in all, since the baby cannot choose its own name, it is saddled with the name it is given and woe betide if it is long and unpronounceable.