Friday, May 04, 2012

It's all in a Name!


Who is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta?  Hint – She is one of the most celebrated rock stars today.  Well, for those who don’t know her yet, this lady chose to call herself differently and her name is yet another feather in her cap for being different.

Going on with my previous obsession on names (see previous blog here), I have developed a keen eye out for everything that is named and whether or not it makes sense. Names abound in a consumerist society that is now very socially active virtually. Gone are the days when one plainly asked for a product.  Each person, each product and everything that is marketed is now a brand.  Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta is a brand. She is a legend with more than 20 million followers and more fans than that.  She is better known as Lady Gaga. 

A few general observations on names that catch my fancy (or those that didn’t) - .

People
Can we then choose to call ourselves what we want to be known as? Can there be a world where our last names and our first names are changeable to whatever we choose them to be without the hassle and the extra work that goes into it?
All doting parents want the names of their babies to be different.  Gone are the days when the usual Rahuls, Nehas, Amits and Poojas ruled the roost. Now each name is increasingly complicated, myriad and has to have international connotations. Interpretations in different languages are sought and pronounce-ability in foreign languages tested.  As a result, again all the ‘uncommon’ names have become common! In my circle of people, there suddenly is a glut of Aryans, Aryas, Aaravs who are probably the next generations Amits!

Whatever the real identities of the people maybe, social media has changed the game. If Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta can call herself Lady Gaga, non-rockstars on twitter and blogger have changed their identities.  Many new age twitter celebrities are known solely by their chosen names. From an Outlook cover story on the new age celebrities, the ones who are featured are a Gabbar Singh, Bollywood Gandu, Great Bong, Jay Hind, Satan Bhagat, Rofl Indian and Dr Yum Yum Singh.  Who cares what their real names are.  One of my favorite bloggers is known as Cyber Nag or Zephyr Nag (visit her blog here) as she chooses to call herself. Her real name remains a mystery to most. I can’t call her anything else but Zephyr Aunty and don’t even want to know what her real name is!  More famous by their chosen names, these individuals have created their own brands and have huge fan followings.I almost think it's time to rechristen myself now!

Housing Projects
Enroute Pune on the expressway, as one nears Pune, a host of hoardings spring up on the latest best residential projects. All of them make you dream of living that foreign dream. Almost. With names like Wisteriaaa (do they think they are building a Desperate housewives set really), Pallazio, Rivieraa, Manhattan,  Liviano, Ariana, Kyra, Silver Leaf and Aria,  Pune is the new Rome or Greece or New York!  As images of Italian restaurants are conjured up, it is dismaying to enter the chaos of the typical Indian city and see that all these buildings that are supposed to be surrounded by lush green fields and resort like locales in the advertisements are in reality in concrete jungles surrounded by more buildings and once the paint starts pealing, the Ariana will be more of OhDearana!

Phones and tablets
With increasing number of mobile phone models, automobile models and new products being launched, I say it isn’t easy to boil down on that one name that has already not being taken which would resonate well with the target audience. Consider the ‘iPad’ for one. Apple has it simple now.  Anything with the ‘i’ attached to it is mostly a hallowed Apple product and sells.  The next in the series are simple 1, 2 or 3 and so on.  So we have had the ipad1, ipad2, ipad3, iphone1..iphone4 now iphone 4S.

Other companies though have had to be more imaginative with a massive range of phones in all possible sizes, configurations and features. Samsung has its ‘Galaxy’ of phones with really weird and impossible to remember suffixes of I9070, Y Duos, Pro Duos, I9100 etc. Nokia has its Lumias suffixed with the again immensely forgettable 610, 710, 810 etc. All other companies have a range of names such as Explorer, Sensation, Rhyme (HTC), Bold, Curve, Torch (Blackberry).

Automobiles
I have always enjoyed knowing the names of new launches. Bikes are exciting in their nomenclature. Discover, Pulsar, Eliminator, Avenger, Sprint from the Bajaj stable certainly try and bring in that adrenaline rush as it tries to outdo Hero Honda. Hero Honda has an elegant Splendor, Karizma, Passion, CBZ Xtreme, Achiever and Glamor in its repertoire that talks of looks, style and the passion to ride.

Cars aren’t left behind in the naming race either. Maruti scored with its apt ‘Swift’ with is sleek and sporty looks.  Chevrolet has a Spark and a Beat that are certainly uplifting names to own.  I don’t know how Hyundai got away with i10 and i20 even though they are not Apple products! Honda with its City has garnered plenty of urban users with its urban name.  Nissan Sunny certainly has a sunny feeling to it while Skoda with its Superb can make its owner proud.

Each brand has certainly tried to bring about speed, style or have a bright name to jazz up your mood!

Item songs!
The next hottest sought after names are in Bollywood ruled by Chikni Chamelis, Badnaam Munnis, Jawaan Shielas, Discoing Anarkalis, Silk Smithas, Dhannos and Chammos!. I wonder what is next- Rapchik Reshma, Nylon Nalini and did someone just say Cotton Kamini?!

What are some of the exciting names you have come across or thought of?

20 comments:

  1. And names of blogs and poems too, which are very unique..

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    1. Absolutely. Naming a blog, a poem, an article is always a challenge given one wants to be innovative and make it eye-catching.

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  2. I always gave importance to the names I gave the blogs... hence, something unique ( or atleast i feel so ) like Godyears and The Appletini :)
    Nice post.. totally agree with it.

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    1. I love Appletini as a blog name. Sounds sweet, tangy and cool to be just right for a blog like yours!

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  3. You do have thing for names, don't you? I had loved the earlier one too. Why haven't you provided a link to it? It would be fun to read both back to back. Coming to mobikes, did you know there is one called Zephyr? Unfortunately its production was stopped by Kawasaki :( But like my blog name and my name, it is an oxymoron or shall we call it the yin and yang of the bike? :D

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    1. Names are exciting. I was reading one of the Mahabharat versions again,and it was exciting to note the hundreds of sagely, kingly and different names one found in there too. Zephyr bike huh? Looks like that name could meld into a variety of personalities- totally yin and yang! Way to go!

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  4. Hey, Richa! You forgot one of my posts titled 'The Giggling Gladiator'! :) I fancy if it qualified for the 'People' category above!

    Jokes apart, It is natural for people to fall back on names for a reference point, at least initially, in absence of requisite information. This is especially the case with sobriquets. Thus we would not go a website run by certain Bolywood Gandu expecting religious musings.

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    1. The Giggling Gladiator! I may have forgotten what this was about but it has totally piqued my interest again.

      A reference point is true to name anyone/thing like you said. How catchy the name can be and how it can make/alter a perception brings to mind the power a name wields.

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  5. People do put a lot of thought to names - brings to mind the "Windows Operating System" which we pay through our noses for and which has expensive (to the user) upgrades and "Ubuntu", a free, open source operating system that upgrades often, also for free. Both have distinctive graphics and music associated with them. One suggests it is a window to the world and the other, an African term, a way of life - that of caring, sharing and harmony with all creation.

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    1. Yes, Windows is one of the most ubiquitous and important things everywhere. Windows did well by naming the software so. Interesting to know about Ubuntu too.

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  6. there is something is a name. even Shakespeare's quote was kinda challenged by Umberto Eco's book 'the name of the rose'!
    enjoyed ur post and i guess its time that names started intriguing me too :D


    sarah

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    1. Thanks for your thoughts Sarah. Shakespeare's famous quote has been the matter of much debate and discussion for a long time now. Do read my previous blog where I am forced to argue it is not all in the name!

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  7. Now who could have thought that there was so much to say about simply,names.BTW how do you like the name of my blog?

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    1. Names abound everywhere - in the people we meet, products we use, articles we read, programs we watch or listen to, which is why they make for an endless discussion topic. :). Just checked out your blog. Looks like Jeete Raho is indeed very apt for the topics you dwell on.

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  8. Wonderful post! I am now thinking of all the strange names that my aunts and uncles have come up with for their lil ones - Nishi, Tia, vivan, etc, etc - I actually have a hard time remembering most of them and almost always end up asking their meaning only to forget it a few days later!

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    1. Thanks Arti. These days names are getting weirder by the day seriously. I think I preferred the good old Hindu (and other religions) names instead of the Greek and Latin ones we have these days!

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  9. ah! nice topic! and nicely written too. names are a big deal and so much thought goes into it
    loved all the examples u gave

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  10. Wonderfully brought together strange things... :) first time here and I am here to stay.. :)

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    1. Welcome to Richland Talk. I appreciate the feedback and look forward to seeing you here again!

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