When parents choose to name a baby, they want the name to have some positive and meaningful association. The amount of discussion that actually goes into finding a suitable name has to be seen to be believed. Everyone becomes very knowledgeable and everyone has suggestions. In the ultimate analysis however, sound, rhythm, meaning, origin are some factors that are important.

The name is something that is going to be repeated a million times and more, so the sound and rhythm are very important. It should be pleasing to the ear. Although the meaning and origin are not something that you will relate to daily, a positive aspect and an interesting origin can go a long way in making the name a nice one. In India, the selection of a name is an intricate. The horoscope is read, the place and time of birth noted and, the textual links between numbers and letter of the Sanskrit alphabet established and a name is arrived at according to the rituals of the Karma Kanda.

In a land, which abounds in religions and states diverse from one another, everyone wants to make it to the top ten. Hindus usually name the child after an ancestor, after gods or characters in the religious books. During different periods, the venerated texts of the Hindu religion have been responsible for inspiring people to name their offspring. Till 800 B.C, The Rig Veda held sway and later the Atharva Veda formed the basis for naming babies. Much later the Mahabharata and Bhagwat Gita became the source for top names for babies.  Anand, Anil, Ajay Pramod, Abhishek, Tarun, Karan, Sanjay could be top names for boys, Jyoti, Madhu, Aparna, Sindhu, Latha, aarthi could be top names for girls.