We are having a little girl! As an honor name we would like to find an Indian middle name. However, we are Christians so we prefer that the name is non-religious (generic meaning such as “faith” is fine) and especially not the name of a Hindu god/goddess. For those of you that love Indian names or love researching names in other languages, would you please help me with name suggestions and their meanings? Thank you!!
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Two of my current favorites are [name_f]Priya[/name_f], meaning “Beloved” and [name_f]Shyla[/name_f], meaning “Daughter of the Mountain”. [name_f]Shyla[/name_f] is another name for the goddess Pavarti, however! 
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Atreyi - “glory”
[name_f]Iyla[/name_f] - “moonlight”
[name_f]Ela[/name_f] - “cardamom tree”
Kashi - “light”
[name_f]Mishika[/name_f] - “person as sweet as sugar” (also the name of the [name_f]Indian[/name_f] Spikenard plant)
Bhumi / Bhumika - “earth”
Elakshi - “woman with bright eyes”
[name_f]Asha[/name_f] - “hope”
Hiranya - “made of gold”
[name_f]Ila[/name_f] - “woman from earth”
Karvi - “golden flower”
[name_f]Adhira[/name_f] - “lightening”
Pakhi - “bird”
[name_f]Aarohi[/name_f] - “tune of music”
[name_f]Myra[/name_f] - “myrrh”
[name_f]Nitara[/name_f] - “deeply rooted”
Pihu - “pea-hen”
Rishita - “saintly”
Atasi - “blue flower”
Virika - “brave one”
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[name_u]An[/name_u] Indian-American friend of mine is named [name_f]Sonali[/name_f] which I find to have a rather charming meaning. I think [name_f]Deva[/name_f] and [name_f]Priya[/name_f] and [name_f]Mira[/name_f] and [name_f]Maya[/name_f] (the name of another Indian-American girl I met) are also cool names too. [name_f]Aiza[/name_f], [name_f]Ela[/name_f], [name_f]Anya[/name_f], Anika,Reena, [name_u]Rani[/name_u], Ratna, [name_f]Padma[/name_f], Pallavi, [name_u]Nitya[/name_u], [name_u]Nikita[/name_u], [name_f]Reva[/name_f], Ravinder, Reshmi / [name_f]Reshma[/name_f], [name_f]Anoushka[/name_f], [name_f]Ila[/name_f], Ritika, Richa, Atasi, Virika, Atreyi, [name_f]Iyla[/name_f], Hiranya, [name_f]Nitara[/name_f], [name_f]Shyla[/name_f], [name_f]Miya[/name_f], [name_f]Ayesha[/name_f] / [name_f]Aisha[/name_f], [name_u]Aruna[/name_u], [name_f]Azra[/name_f], [name_f]Chanda[/name_f], [name_f]Chandra[/name_f], [name_u]Devi[/name_u], Dipti, Dipika, [name_f]Divya[/name_f], [name_f]Disha[/name_f], [name_f]Esha[/name_f], [name_f]Farika[/name_f], [name_f]Fatima[/name_f], Gul, [name_f]Lila[/name_f], [name_f]Riya[/name_f], [name_f]Lina[/name_f] are some cool ones!
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[name_u]Love[/name_u] [name_f]Divya[/name_f]! Im not sure about religious connections but have seen it means divine brilliance which almost sounds biblical to me!
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[name_f]Anika[/name_f] (army/splendour)
[name_f]Nisha[/name_f] (night)
[name_f]Riya[/name_f] (singer)
[name_f]Veda[/name_f] (knowledge)
[name_f]Shreya[/name_f] (best/superior)
[name_f]Avani[/name_f] (earth)
[name_f]Zarina[/name_f] (golden)
[name_f]Mira[/name_f] (sea/ocean - amongst other meanings)
[name_f]Sitara[/name_f] (star)
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I can’t remember which names belong to gods/goddesses, but here’s a few I like;
•Priya
•Chaitali
•Karvi
•Shyla
•Ira
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I don’t have any real suggestions, but I wanted to thank you for posting this topic! [name_f]My[/name_f] husband and I are Christians and he is of [name_f]Indian[/name_f] descent. While talking about baby names, he has mentioned looking into [name_f]Indian[/name_f] names but wading through all the non-Christian religious names proved difficult. I will be following this topic!
I do have one cheat suggestion: [name_u]Indigo[/name_u] means [name_f]Indian[/name_f] dye.
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[name_f]Glad[/name_f] this thread helps you too! You might have to start one for boy names 
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[name_f]My[/name_f] absolute favorite is [name_f]Lilavati[/name_f] (she means “amusing/charming/graceful”), I think she’s stunning! I also love [name_f]Priya[/name_f] (“beloved” - appears to be taken from a Hindu legend, though, so that seems like it might be religious), Anjayya (feminine form of Anjay, “unconquerable/unbeatable”. unsure if it is religious, apparently it’s from a Hindu [name_f]Veda[/name_f] [name_u]Epic[/name_u] Cycle; not too sure what that is), [name_f]Divya[/name_f] (“divine/heavenly”), Mira/Meera (“sea/ocean” - doesn’t appear to be a goddess’s name, but a famous [name_f]Mira[/name_f] did devote her life to a Hindu goddess), [name_u]Jyoti[/name_u] (“light”), etc. [name_f]Indira[/name_f] is nice but is definitely tied to a Hindu goddess. I find it hard to determine since a lot of [name_f]Indian[/name_f] names seem to stem from religious honors - a lot of these seem “safe” for what you’re looking for but it’s hard to tell for sure since I’m not terribly familiar with Hindu culture. tbh, a lot of these I remember loving when exploring my [name_f]Indian[/name_f] culture a few years back. I always thought they were really lovely.
Good luck!
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Thanks, everyone! This was for an embryo adoption that just fell through today 
But I hope this thread is still helpful to others!
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