Okay - so the problem I have is that [name]Indian[/name] names said in an English accent sound really wrong and sometimes quite ugly…So - I am just trying out these ones which I think translate quite well. Are they easy to pronounce? Any preference? Boys seem to be a little easier - [name]Nikhil[/name] and Krishan.
[name]Anjali[/name]
[name]Chandra[/name]
[name]Indra[/name]
Indrani
Nandita
Nalini
Chitralekha
Sudeshna
[name]Isha[/name]
[name]Anya[/name]
Ananya
Anouska
Any thoughts?
Any thoughts anyone?
Chitralekha and Sudeshna definitely won’t work, in my opinion. They sound a little out-there in English, and they’ll definitely be butchered. The former especially has very little chance of being said/spelled right by most anglophone folks.
[name]Anya[/name] is the best choice for ease of spelling/pronunciation and cross-cultural use. [name]Chandra[/name] should also work fine (one of my parents’ friends is named [name]Chandra[/name], and she doesn’t seem to have any trouble most of the time), [name]Anjali[/name] is pretty common amongst Anglo-Indians in my area and it seems to work pretty well - that might just be because it’s common thus familiar, I dunno, and [name]Indra[/name] and [name]Isha[/name] might be okay too. They’re all pretty simple and easy names, so if someone says it wrong the first time, you can correct them and they should pick it up pretty quickly.
I think the prettiest by far is Nalini. It’s awesome. Again, it doesn’t -seem- too difficult, but I might be saying it wrong. It’s a little riskier than, say, [name]Anya[/name], but it’s also not too complex. So yeah, it could work.
So to sum up - [name]Anya[/name], [name]Chandra[/name], [name]Anjali[/name], [name]Indra[/name], [name]Isha[/name] and maybe Nalini all seem like a good choice. It’s best to stay away from Chitralekha etc.
That’s my view on it, anyway.
I really like [name]Anjali[/name], [name]Anya[/name] and Nalini. They translate very well into English, and I wouldn’t even guess that [name]Anya[/name] was [name]Indian[/name] and not English. I think I’d actually go for [name]Anjali[/name] or Nalini, if you want a strong [name]Indian[/name] connection.
Thank you - [name]Anjali[/name] is a firm favourite and I am really thinking about Nalini now too 
I would trust myself to be able to say:
*[name]Anjali[/name]- this sounds really beautiful, and has an amazing meaning. Definitely deserves the favorite spot.
[name]Chandra[/name]- I’m neither here nor there on this one, but there’s nothing wrong with it.
[name]Indra[/name]- only one letter off from being [name]India[/name]… I know there isn’t an actual connection but it’s still what I see (makes it seem a bit cliche, to me)
*Nandita- I really like the sound of this one, and I think that it would pair nicely with many first names.
Nalini- Seems to be another favorite. I have no reference to this name so I keep reading it wrong as ‘Nagini’ but that’s probably just me, lol.
[name]Isha[/name] & [name]Anya[/name]- are nice enough names, but they don’t seem as substantial or as cultural as the other options.
*Ananya- I think they extra syllable here makes this name much more desirable than [name]Anya[/name], so it’d be my definite choice between the two. Good luck!
Yes - I do like Nandita - maybe not too hard to say and Ananya is quite exotic without having too many sounds that aren’t anglophile!
These are for middle names? I’d go with something short in that case. [name]Anjali[/name], [name]Anya[/name], Ananya, [name]Anoushka[/name], other A-names are really popular now.
[name]Indra[/name] I think of as a boy’s name. I love Indrani, one of my favorite names, and extremely Bengali
Nalini, like the other -ini names (Mohini, Rohini, Shalini, Nandini, etc.) would probably be mispronounced to rhyme with Houdini instead of its actual pronunciation - NAL-ih-nee with the emphasis on the first syllable. I myself have shortlisted the name Shalinee, spelled just like that, as I think the spelling is more cued to pronounce it right. Bengali names in particular I would want to spell as they sound; Bijoya, not Vijaya. Lokkhon, not Lakshman. (Neither of those names is on my list either for obvious reasons!)
Chitralekha, Sudeshna, those sound kind of old-fashioned. If they went by a daak naam all the time it might not be too bad, but for a middle name it doesn’t make a lot of sense.
This is a little off topic but have you considered Sonali and [name]Kalindi[/name]? I’ve always admired these [name]Indian[/name] beauties.
Trili - totally love that you understand the whole dak naam thing!!! Made me smile. My nephews dak naams are ladoo (like the sweet!) and badoo (silly man!) And yes they would be middle names and I love names beginning with A - hubby and I have decided on [name]Anjali[/name] and Annaya
Sonali in [name]India[/name] is pronounced with a Sh sound so I have never liked the S sound with the name. [name]Kalindi[/name] is a great name but not really my cup of tea. But thank you!
My friend is [name]Indian[/name], and her name is [name]Priya[/name], which I love, I also love [name]Anya[/name] can also be spelled [name]Anja[/name], and [name]Indira[/name]