Whats in a Sikh name?
Every Sikh child is given a name after birth in a ceremony called Naam karan. Normally, the names are picked up in the presence of Sri Guru Granth Sahib. The sacred scripture is opened at random and a name is picked starting with the first letter of the first word from the top left or the first letter of the Hukamnama. Sikh males bear the appellation of ‘Singh’ and females ‘Kaur’, after their first names. The word ‘Singh’ means lion, and ‘Kaur’ means princess/lioness. All the Singhs and Kaurs may not in fact be Sikhs. The Rajputs and Gurkhas also use these names. This appellation helped the Sikhs to become a caste-less fraternity. It infused a martial spirit in the community. In some parts of the world, Sikh males are called ‘Sardar Ji’ (Chief) and females are called ‘Sardarni Ji’. This designation is attached to the front of the name. Some Sikhs may also put the village name from whence they came as a suffix. Youngsters do not call parents or persons older than themselves by first nam
