I saw Gandhi/Ghandi suggested as a ‘hippy’ name for a baby boy on another forum after [name]Indira[/name] Gandhi and/or Mahamata Gandhi.
I wouldn’t ever use it on a child simply because it’s an [name]Indian[/name] surname and it would be a bit of a general culture clash (like I would feel uncomfortable using a very Welsh/[name]German[/name]/[name]Kenyan[/name] name on an English child). It’s also too much of a political statement especially when it’s from a country I’m fairly ignorant about. However, Gandhi really does have great name sakes and I do like the sound of it.
I’m totally with you on the names I like need to make sense in/with the culture I grew up in/with. Or that of the father.
I find incredibly traditional Gaelic names odd on a very Russian child. Clearly a personal choice and opinion.
…so Gandhi would be too out there for me. That said…
I don’t see there being anything wrong with the name.
According to BabyNames.com Gandhi is Sanscrit in origin and means sun. I think that if you wanted to honor Indira or Mahamata Gandhi you could try to use a different name that means sun. Yes, it wouldn’t be as obvious an homage but you would know and it could fit with your feelings toward wanting a name that fits your cultural background but still honors someone who is (for a lack of a better word) awesome.
Suggestion for girls could be: Solstice Irene (English/Greek meaning placement of sun and peace)
Suggestion for boys could be: Noah Dayton (Hebrew/English = rest/peace and sunny town).
As a middle, it’s very cool. As a first, it’s a bit of an expectation name. Like if Gandhi ever gets in a fight, he’ll never hear the end of it. I think names that have one owner- [name]Madonna[/name], [name]Beyonce[/name], etc.- are just too much. I even find [name]Lennon[/name] to be a bit too tied to one single person. Gandhi definitely has that problem. And while I would be quite proud if my son if he turned out like Gandhi, I don’t want Mahatma Gandhi to be the first person everyone thinks of when they meet him. I’d want my child to be known for himself, and with a name like that, it’ll be hard to ever drop the association.
And honestly I would find it a little bit strange to see a non-[name]Indian[/name] kid named Gandhi. It’s just a lot of name, with a lot of connotations.
[name]Indira[/name], on the other hand, seems much more usable for a girl. [name]Indira[/name] isn’t quite as well known as Mohandas, and the name sounds and looks closer to English words and names.
I would never ever [name]EVER[/name] name someone Gandhi. Firstly, because it is an [name]Indian[/name] surname and I don’t know anything about [name]India[/name] or Mahatma Gandhi and, secondly, it doesn’t sound nice anyway
I always find this weird. If someone wanted to honour a specific Gandhi then surely you’d use [name]Indira[/name] or Mohandas/Mahatma etc, because, well, those were their names. Gandhi is a surname and, to me, it’d sort of be like you were ‘honouring’ everyone on the planet with the surname Gandhi instead of the person you actually associate the name with. It’s incredibly non-specific. Like, if I wanted to honour my nanna I’d call my daughter [name]Rose[/name], not O’[name]Shea[/name] or [name]Williams[/name] cos that could be anyone.
N.B It’s after midnight here. Sorry if none of that made sense.
Your argument makes perfect sense but paradoxically your argument support the opposite as well, especially with famous figures like Gandhi, [name]Hendrix[/name] or [name]Lincoln[/name]. Mohandas, [name]Jimmy[/name] and [name]Abraham[/name] could be anyone, even a family member.
I think it sounds awesome. My firstborn’s name’s [name]Hendrix[/name], and of course it’s in honor of the musician, but also because we really like the sound of it. So yeah, [name]Jimi[/name] [name]Hendrix[/name] is the first person people think of when they meet him, but there aren’t many other Hendrixes in [name]Alabama[/name], so it kind of became his singnature… Besides, kids at school have no idea who [name]Hendrix[/name] or Gandhi were, so he should be fine with it until college.
Actually, most people learn about Gandhi in history class in elementary school, or at least we did… for sure you’ll know who he is by high school, if not the education in the school is questionable…
Yeah, I guess kids are more likely to know who Gandhi is than [name]Hendrix[/name]… Anyways, Gandhi was a great man and that’s all that matters, your son will have someone to look up to, someone he has a lot in common with
I agree with daisy that it’s too much of an expectation name. I go for pretty much anything in the middle though, and that’s a nice way to honor someone or a certain ideal or memory. But up front I would find it odd because 1) it’s not a first name and 2) it’s so tied to the figure that it would be hard for your child to break away from that image…and as someone said, there’s teasing potential if he’s not like the historical figure.
[name]Even[/name] by “hippie standards”, I think Gandhi is too out there, almost contrived if the person is not of [name]Indian[/name] descent. (and I’m not talking about the “my greatx4 grandfather was [name]Indian[/name], and I’m only 1/32, so I could pull it off!” type excuse)