OF NAMES AND SURNAMES

All people have names, many have surnames and a select few have ‘The Surname’. Ask anyone in Bollywood to Business, Politics to Legalese and you will know the hierarchies maintained on basis of the category to which you belong.

Interestingly, none of our Gods, Avatars, Prophets or mythological heroes had surnames. Rama or Ravana, Krishna or Indra, neither had, nor required any surnames. Yudhisthira and his brothers did call themselves ‘Pandavas’ but neither did they add it after their names, nor did their successors Parikshit or Janmejaya add it as a surname after their names. Even most historical figures did not have surnames, whether it be Alexander, Ashoka, Prophet Mohammad, Charlemagne or Samudragupta. Some did add honorifics or taglines like ‘the Great’ or ‘Vikramaditya’ but those were not carried forward to the next generation. Probably, if you have ‘the Name’, you do not need a surname.

Often, surnames were given on the basis of the occupation of the original ancestor and others down the line are stuck with it. The surname ‘Smith’ in England is a good example. The surname was given to those who worked in metal forgings etc. like coppersmiths, blacksmiths, goldsmiths and so on. Yet the surname persisted even when the persons bearing it took other occupations. A nuclear scientist, a Prime Minister, a janitor or a filmstar may all be stuck with ‘Smith’ as their common surname.  The late lamented Bejan Daruwala was a teetotaller all his life and used to joke that he should have been named ‘Jaandar Be-daruwala’. And as for our beloved Ronnie Screwvala - let’s not push the analogy too far....

Some others are unsure of which surname to adopt, so they prefer to go without one. The British Royal Family for example went without any surname till 1917 when George V decided on the surname ‘Windsor’ and later Queen Elizabeth in 1960 decided on ‘Mountbatten-Windsor’. However these choices are just on paper. The Royals prefer their royal prefixes and do not use their surnames at all.

In today’s world, some of the achievers turn their surnames into brands. Apart from the Fords, Kennedys and Rothschilds, we have seen Bachchans, Kapoors, Khans and Johars amongst others in Bollywood, who have built a brand around their surnames, so as to take the surname to the next level of ‘The Surname’. Till sometime back at least, the branding of surnames spelt several restrictions on the family members holding them, especially regarding matrimony and work. Matrimony involves a strict pedigree check to ensure that the offsprings who will advance the family name are also pedigreed! In fact this restriction is widely practised amongst the less famous surnamed families in India also.

Sometimes, one famous personality may monopolize a surname. Whenever the newspaper headlines refer to Modi, we instinctively relate it to Mr. Narendra Modi despite there being lakhs of people having the same surname. Very interestingly, Mr. Rahul Gandhi is always referred to as Rahulji and Mrs. Sonia Gandhi as Soniaji but Mr. Narendra Modi is always referred to as Modiji and not Narendraji. The reason being that ‘Gandhiji’ is relatable in Indian minds only to the Father of the Nation.

In many communities, people do not use a surname but use their father’s name as a suffix to show the ancestory. This is not only in India but also in Russia, Arabia and Muslims in South-east Asia, amongst others. In many other societies, father’s name is used as a middle name between one’s name and surname. In a Bollywood video that went viral, actor Neil Nitin Mukesh was asked why his name had three names but no surname. Actually when one has three most illustrious names, does one need a surname?

With greater awareness of women’s rights, women are mostly preferring to retain their father’s surnames rather than convert to their husband’s. An increase in divorce and remarriage rates, apart from increasing economic independence and sense of identity, often contributes to this trend. Imagine Elizabeth Taylor changing her name after every marriage! The upshot is that in invitation cards, you can no longer write ‘Mr. & Mrs. X’ as in yesteryears and in hotels, they now demand i-cards of both the spouses.

‘What’s in a name?’ Juliet had enquired of Romeo. Actually Bollywood can best testify to that. Yusuf Khan became famous as Dilip Kumar, Harihar Jethalal Jariwala became Sanjeev Kumar, Ravi Kapoor became Jeetendra and so on. In fact changing one’s name or surname requires just affirming an affidavit before Magistrate and giving an ad in newspaper. So, to the pedigreed ones, especially in Bollywood, why not throw the question back – ‘What’s in a Surname?’