Meanings and readings
Meanings explain the name’s language, roots and cultural associations. Where an original dictionary entry or personal-name reference is available, we link it in Sources. A shared Latin spelling can represent several words. Each reading keeps its language, written form and citations. We put the reading supported by Indian written forms and usage first; where a derivation is uncertain, we leave it unassigned.
For compounds we explain the cited components. We do not treat a similar-looking dictionary word as proof of a name’s derivation. Precise dictionary references appear in the Sources disclosure on each profile.
Spellings
Only conventional spellings appear as alternatives. Machine transliteration keys are internal aids for joining records. A cluster contains distinct keys once, and separate names remain separate even when their English spellings look similar.
Historical usage in India
Naampy version 3 is a CC0 dataset derived from historical electoral rolls, chiefly adults. It is not a current baby-name ranking. We use the Latin-script table for totals and state and birth-decade margins. Native-script observations are a separate view of written forms. Where no linked Latin total is available, a profile uses one exact native form for its totals and margins and labels that form. Counts from different tables or scripts are never added.
Individual roll years are not documented in the supplied tables. We exclude birth years before 1910 and after 2001 as implausible for this voter dataset. The age fields can contain errors even within that window. The same filter applies to the total, recorded sex, state, decade and native-script counts, so all published margins describe the same birth-year window. The 2000s bar covers 2000–2001 only.
Every displayed Naampy count contains at least 100 records. Small cells are grouped with at least one other cell into “other states” or “other decades”, only when that group contains at least 100 records. No grouped remainder represents just one hidden cell. Recorded sex counts use additional withholding when needed. We omit the shares of withheld cells as well. A missing value is never zero.
Female and male describe what the historical records say, without determining anyone’s identity. “Mostly recorded for girls/boys” describes a share above 80%. Between 20% and 80%, we describe records for both boys and girls.
Historical state names are expanded for readability. Andhra Pradesh reflects the source’s Andhra grouping, which may include present-day Telangana. Jammu and Kashmir, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu retain the historical source groupings. All counts use international digit grouping.
Written forms and pronunciation
Native forms must be attested in records or a cited dictionary. Each spelling has its own evidence. We show a letter-by-letter Latin spelling for attested Devanagari, and pronunciation symbols only where the linked Wiktionary entry supplies them. Each pronunciation belongs to the displayed written form.
For names with several readings, the aggregate Latin records cover the included spellings together. They cannot be divided between readings unless the source provides that distinction. A count beside a native form describes that exact written form alone.
Birth registrations abroad
ONS England and Wales and National Records of Scotland provide exact-spelling 2025 birth statistics. Each jurisdiction, year, sex and rank remains separate. Their own publication rules apply. The numbers do not identify ancestry, nationality or religion.
Page depth
A full profile combines a sourced meaning with historical usage, or an attested form and official birth statistics abroad. Arabic- or Persian-led profiles require at least 1,000 Indian voter records. A data profile requires at least 1,000 historical records, three published states and three published birth decades, plus a linked native form, official statistics abroad or an explicit dictionary name entry. Surnames, titles and artefacts are excluded. Machine keys never count as spelling variants. Data-only profiles remain available but are excluded from search-engine indexing and sitemaps. Discovery lists require a sourced meaning or an evidence-backed component reading as well as spelling, identity and privacy checks.
Naming traditions
Sikh naming traditions have a separate sourced guide; a tradition never determines an individual’s religion.