Soumya Boyanapalli

Professor Lynn M. Raymond

UWRT 1104
22 February 2017

Writing Prompt 5 Literacy Narrative

Google defines name as a word or set of words by which a person, animal, place, or
thing is known, addressed or referred to. Names are basically just words; letters that are put
together to make a word. Everyone has a name, having a name can be very convenient, because
if youre referring to an individual or trying to get an individuals attention it makes it very easy
to know exactly who that individual is, if they have a name. There are situations though where
two individuals end up having the same name, which sometimes makes it difficult to know
exactly which person you are referring to. This is why many people have three names; first
name, middle name, and last name. So if by chance two individuals with the same first name
does end up at the same place then you can use the middle name, last name, both first and last
name, or first name and first letter of last name to refer to the individual.

All the different cultures around the word at different times in history have different ways
of naming. In different cultures, different people or relatives are responsible for naming the child.
There are different ways in which a child is named. When a child is born or even before the child
is born, the hunting for the names begin. In many cultures, the child is named before they are
even born, while still in the womb, but in most Asian countries including India where my origin
is, child is actually named only after they are born. In India many of the names that are given are
religious (God names), others are given by determining the position of the planets according to
the date and time of birth of the individuals. In India, the child is named based on the day, time
and date of birth which are noted precisely and according to astronomical phase which
determines the alignment of planets during that time, the starting letter of the name is
determined. That is usually given by a astrologer and then parents use that starting letter to come
up with a name. This is how my family does it. My full name is Soumya Boyanapalli. My name
only has a first name and last name, I dont have a middle name. This is because its not
necessary in the Indian culture to have a middle name. This doesnt mean that no one that is
India have a middle name. My brother actually does have a middle name. His name is Pranav Sai
Boyanapalli. Mine and my brothers name was named by my parents, not suggested by
astrologer. My mom liked the name Soumya as it means calm, peaceful, good-natured, a happy
individual, an individual that is always full of light. My last name is however family name
inherited from my dad as ours is patriarchal society. In India, many of them name their kids with
famous personalities as their inspirations or Gods names or their ancestors names in respect to
their ancestors. In India, some people have names which can extend to more than three common
names as they include ancestors from both parents. India is very diverse, naming again depends
on which part of India one comes from. In some regions, fathers first name becomes kids last
name.

Here are few examples of how individuals are named in different cultures. Even in China,
they usually choose the name of the child according to the childs birthday, the date the child is
actually born on. Parents usually work together to come up with a unique name for their child, a
name they both like, or a name that means something very important to the parent, but in China
the fathers actually have the last say on the childs name, so they make the final decision.
Afghan names are usually chosen by parents but the last name is also chosen by the parent,
meaning that it is possible that blood related brother and sister can have completely different last
name. Hispanic names are usually chosen from the bible which is correlated with their Catholic
faith, with Hispanic culture, family tradition is highly valued so many of the boys in the family
are named after their father or grandfather.

Even the organization of the name is different from culture to culture. In many of the
culture names are organized from first name, middle name, and last name. But for Korean names,
the last name comes first, and a middle name doesnt exist. For example, the name Seo Jun Lee
in Korean language this name would be written as Lee Seo Jun. The part Seo Jun is
considered the full first name and Lee would be considered the last name, so Jun would not be
considered as a middle name. Similarly, In India, the part where my parents come from family
name is first followed by first name.

Names in different languages are also pronounced very different because of the different
language, and different sound systems. It is very interesting to learn how a particular person was
named. Fun fact is that Barnaby Usansky, 36, formerly known as Nicholas Usansky (Nick) added
few words to his name setting up a new Guinness world record for the Longest name. His name
now is Barnaby Marmaduke Aloysius Benjy Cobweb Dartagnan Egbert Felix Gaspar Humbert
Ignatius Jayden Kasper Leroy Maximilian Neddy Obiajulu Pepin Quilliam Rosencrantz Sexton
Teddy Upwood Vivatma Wayland Xylon Yardley Zachary Usansky.
 Citation

7 Naming Customs From Around the World. TESOL Blog. N.p., n.d. Wed. 22 Feb.
2017.

Murray, Linda. Baby Naming: A Global Tradition. The Huffington Post.

TheHuffingtonPost.com, 19 Dec 2012. Wed. 22 Feb. 2017

Vakkilainen, Joonas Is a persons name pronounced in the same way in different

languages? Quora Quora.com, 3 Sept. Wed. 22 Feb. 2017

Given Name SOUMYA. Behind the Name. behindthename.com. 22 March 2006.

Wed. 22 Feb.2017