Indian names that would work for a non-Indian girl?

Girl Names
21

There are many names on this thread that work well, but there are many more that I think would probably just cause a lot of problems. Here are some of the ones I think would work best, plus a few of my own.

[name]Asha[/name]
Satira
[name]India[/name] or [name]Indira[/name] (I love the NN [name]Indy[/name]!)
[name]Priya[/name]
[name]Neela[/name]
[name]Meera[/name] (Although it kind of reminds me of a Meerecat)
[name]Meena[/name] / [name]Mina[/name] ( I prefer the [name]Mina[/name] spelling) (Of all of these I beg you not to pick [name]Leela[/name] since it’s a character from Futurama.)
Rumi (Sounds like Roomy, which could be weird)
[name]Anisha[/name]
Ashara
[name]Pia[/name]
[name]Devi[/name]
[name]Zahra[/name]/[name]Zara[/name]
[name]Anaya[/name]
[name]Kalida[/name]/[name]Kalinda[/name]
[name]Naya[/name]
Radha
[name]Sarika[/name]

When choosing a name from a culture so different from the one the child will be living in, I think it is very important to pick one that will transfer easily to both the ear and the hand. Many [name]Indian[/name]/Sanskrit names sound odd to American ears, and will therefore be spelled very very badly. I know this isn’t as big a deal for some, but for me after 25 years of having a relatively common name that spelled weirdly it’s annoying to always have to correct every one.

22

Bindi
[name]India[/name]
[name]Raja[/name]
[name]Jaya[/name]
[name]Asia[/name]
Dahl
[name]Lotus[/name]
[name]Gita[/name]

23

I have an [name]Indian[/name] friend from Goa (the formerly-Portugese part) whose name is [name]Geeta[/name], her twin sister is [name]Leela[/name], and their older sister is Divya (Div-ee-a). My favorite was always the name Divya.

24

I’m a white girl named [name]Shanti[/name], which is of course “peace” in Hindi/Sanskrit and used in Hindu prayer. I love my name, and I’m actually very close to publishing a Nameberry blog about my experiences with the name. Stay tuned for it, if you’d like!

25

[name]Anisha[/name]
[name]Anjali[/name]
[name]Sarita[/name]
Simanti (this is the name of a friend of mine from [name]India[/name], who says the name is pretty uncommon there)

26

[name]Priya[/name] was the first one I thought of, too, but here are some other [name]Indian[/name] girls’ names I like, all taken from friends and people I’ve known:

Safina
Shruti (I think this one means melody?)
Indrani
Preethi (this one would probably wear the worst for a non-[name]Indian[/name] child, but I think it is so cute!)

27

I think its fine

28

I love Amrita!!

29

I agree with the pp who suggested [name]Anisha[/name]. I went to school with one,she was caucasian. [name]Asha[/name] could also work,as another pp said.