Welcome
​
Introduction
Kerala, a state in the southwest India, has a large Christian population that traces its roots to Saint Thomas, one of the disciples of Jesus Christ. Saint Thomas traveled to Kerala in the first century to bring the gospel message. He was probably following trade routes that had long been bringing foreigners to Kerala. The Malabar coast is famed for the abundance of spices that it is blessed with. The spice trade was a magnet that drew traders of many diverse backgrounds to Kerala . Kerala’s unique history has resulted in a population that has very interesting names. In this book I will attempt to trace the origin of names among Kerala Christians and give some insight into the meaning of these names.
Why did I begin to write this book on Kerala Christian names? I asked several Kerala Bible scholars about the meaning of the name ‘Cherian’, but no one was able to give a proper answer. While I was in Montreal, Canada years back, I used to get a newsletter from the Armenian association. Afterwards, several Armenians told me that my last name sounds like an Armenian name. When I went to the marriage of my nephew, one of the bridesmaids was of Armenian descent and her last name was Khchirian (pronounced similar to Cherian with a silent ‘Kh’. I asked her whether her name was a common name in Armenia. She answered affirmatively. Then I researched Kerala Christian history and came to the conclusion that many West Asian immigrants, including some Armenians, settled in Kerala several centuries ago.
The introduction chapter deals with the history of Kerala Christians and their names. Many of these names are derived from the diverse sources of immigration to Kerala. The chapters on names give the origin and meaning of the names of males and females. Another chapter deals with the Malayalam titles used to call near relatives.
Some names have prefixes like Kochu, Kunju etc which have been avoided. Similarly, sufixes like Achan, Kutty, Kunju, Achayan, Unni, Mon etc have been avoided in most names because of the limitation of space. But, the suffix "Amma " is included because it is a very common addition to women's names. " Amma " in this aspect means a respected woman even though the literal meaning is mother. I am not dealing with last names originating from house names. They usually relate to some features adjacent to the house such as " Pallivathukkal " (near church gate) or features of the house itself such as " Puthenpurayil " (new house). I also avoided the modern North Indian style names and made-up names. In many cases, only the parents know the meaning of the made-up names.
The readers are expected to find the meaning and ethnic origin of their names and enjoy them. Many names are centuries old. Please respect them the way they are. Comments and opinions are very welcome, especially for the names of uncertain origin and meaning.
Introduction
" What is in a name? " A name gives an identity to a person. Usually, a name has two parts, a first name and a last name. In Kerala, a state in India, a Christian uses his or her Christian name as first name and his or her father's Christian name as last name. e.g., Mathew George. But some people use their Christian names as the last names with initials in the beginning to denote the house name and father's name. e.g., P. G. Mathew ( Puzhayarukil George Mathew ). Modern times have initiated the use of family name ( house name ) as the last name by some people. e.g. Mathew George Puzhayarukil or M. G. Puzhayarukil. Kerala Christian women adopt the first name of their husbands as their last names after marriage. Thus some people have one name with initials, some have two names and others have three names. Since Indian independence, many Christians have names with a North Indian accent. Some other names have been self-invented just by changing the alphabets in the older names. There are also nicknames and Malayalam pet names used commonly.
In contrast to this, most of the Christian names in the Western world consists of three parts, first name, middle name and surname. The first name is usually a Christian name, the middle name is usually a relative's name and the surname is usually the family name. But some people use only two names, first and last names.
Brief History of the Kerala Christians
The Christian names in Kerala have gone through several evolutions. To appreciate the changes during the past several centuries, a brief knowledge of Kerala Christian history has to be considered. Kerala state is located on the southwest coast of India. Situated between the hills of the Western Ghats to the east and the Arabian sea to the west, Kerala has attracted distant travelers for several centuries. According to Marco Polo, the 14th century traveler, the great province of Malabar ( Kerala ) called India greater was the richest province of the world. The Egyptians, West Asians, Israelites, Arabs, Greeks, Romans and Chinese, all visited sea ports of Kerala even before the Christian era. The oldest Tamil classic 'Chilappadikaram ' mentions Greek ( or West Asian ) seamen living in the city of Puhar ( Chera empire ). The ships of King Solomon traded spices from Kerala to Israel and West Asia. The population of Kerala speaks the Malayalam language. The population of Kerala is a blend of West Asian immigrants, Aryans from North India, Dravidians and local hill tribes. Kerala Christians also have more or less a similar blend of people. The arrival of Europeans in 1498 A.D. also contributed to the rich mixture of people in the Christian population in Kerala. As the tradition goes, Christianity in Kerala originated due to the missionary works of St. Thomas, an apostle of Christ. According to the Kerala Christian tradition, St. Thomas landed at Kodungalloor ( ancient Muziris ) and converted many people to Christianity mainly from high caste Hindus. He also built seven churches in Maliankara, Palur, Palayur, Kottakkavu, Quilon, Niranom and Nilakkal. Later, he went to the east coast and was assassinated near Mylapore in A.D. 72. Kerala Christians are also known as St. Thomas Christians because of this tradition.
Heritage of Kerala Christians
Some of the Kerala Christians believe that they are the descendants of west Asians immigrants who have been in Kerala even before the time of Jesus Christ. They attribute the reason for this belief to the word ‘peacocks’ mentioned in 1 Kings 10: 22 and 2 Chronicles 9: 21 of the Holy Bible (King James and other older versions). The verse in 1 Kings, similar to 2 Chronicles, is written as, “For the King (Solomon) had a navy of Tharshish, bringing gold and silver, ivory and apes and peacocks.” Some modern western Christian scholars are disputing the word peacocks. The New International Version (NIV) of the Holy Bible and the New Jerusalem Bible substitute the word ‘baboons’ for ‘peacocks.’ The new Standard Revised King James version of the Holy Bible uses the word ‘baboons,’ but mentions ‘peacocks’ as an alternative. Prof. W. S. McCullough had mentioned in the Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible that the peafowl (peacock), a native of India, was unlikely introduced into Israel at the time of King Solomon. Prof. McCullogh’s opinion can be easily challenged. He seems to have made a mistake in interpreting the Hebrew word for peacocks. According to the Pocket Hebrew Dictionary to the Old testament, the hebrew word peacocks is pronounced as ‘tukkiyim’ (tukki - singular). This is almost same as the Tamil language word, ‘thokei’ for ‘peacock tail feathers.’ The peacock itself is known as ‘mayil’ in Tamil and Malayalam languages and ‘tavas’ in Hebrew. The International Bible Society (IBS) seems to have some trouble in the
translation of the word, peacocks. That is because of the original translation of the Hebrew word, tukkiyim as peacocks. If tukkiyim was translated as peacock tail feathers in the original English Bibles, no confusion would have developed. Because IBS could not trace the origin of the word, ‘tukkiyim,’ they translated it into baboons instead of peacock tail feathers. The peacocks, the most beautiful birds in the world, were numerous in ancient India and King Solomon’s ships could have carried the peacock feathers away from any northern seaports in India, but, the Sanskrit language word for the peacock is ‘mor’ or ‘mayur’ and for peacock tail feather is ‘mayur-pank,’ entirely different words from the Hebrew word, ‘tukkiyim.’ That means the peacock feathers were brought from the southern seaports in India, most likely Kerala, where Tamil, not Malayalam, was the language spoken before 7th century A.D. King Solomon’s ships most likely went to Muzuris (now Kodungaloor) and carried away many goods including peacock tail feathers. According to Johanna Spector, a well known film maker of Jewish Diaspora,
Cochin Jews are thought to have settled in Kerala during the reign of King Solomon. The Hindu King of Kerala was very tolerant and received the Jews with warm welcome. The presence of Jews may be one reason why St. Thomas, the Apostle, visited Kerala and other parts of India in the first century A.D to preach Christianity.
​
To disprove Prof. McCullough’s claim that peacocks were not introduced to Israel as early as the age of King Solomon, one important clue could be discussed. ‘Cinnamon’ mentioned in Exodus, Proverbs and Song of Songs of the Holy Bible, refers to the inner bark of Cinnamomum Zelanicum, a tree native to India and Sri Lanka. Historically, the cinnamon tree was not introduced to any other countries from its native habitats. If Moses used cinnamon to make ‘Holy Oil’ at the time of Exodus, cinnamon, an Indian product, should have very well been known in Egypt and Israel long before King Solomon’s time. Another exclusive Indian product, ‘nard (jadamanchi),’ is also mentioned in the Song of Songs, Mark and John in the Holy Bible. Then, why another Indian commodity, namely peacock tail feathers, was not considered to be known to Israel at the time of King Solomon? Everet Ferguson in his book ‘Encyclopedia of Early Christianity’ suggests about trade relations between India and Roman empire in the late B.C. era. Another connection between Kerala and West Asia is the language association. Malayalam is a language formed by the mixture of Tamil and Sanskrit.
Malayalam has a letter ’ta’ which did not originate from Sanskrit. S. J. Mangalam, a Malayalam language expert, has discussed in detail about the origin of all the Malayalam letters except ‘ta’ and ‘nta’ in his book ‘Palaeography of Malayalam Script.’ He could not trace the origins of ‘ta’ and ‘nta.’ Most of the Malayalam language experts usually believe that ‘ta’ is the double letter of the letter ‘rha,’ but think once again. All the Malayalam double letters except ‘ta’ and ‘nta,’ are phonetically very similar to the component letters. Then, why ‘ta’ and ‘rha’ are phonetically very different? The reason is because ‘ta’ and ‘rha’ are different letters and are not related. The letter ‘ta’ should be added to the alphabet as a consonant letter. The letter ‘t’ and other letters in European languages came from Phonecian language. Evidence point to the fact that Phonecian sailers came to Kerala in the ancient times. It can be very well concluded that the letters ‘ta’ and ‘nta,’ which do not belong to Sanskrit, have originated from West Asia. Some Jews, Phonecians and Greeks most likely settled in Kerala long before the time of Jesus Christ and changed to Christianity at the arrival of St. Thomas, the courageous, but doubting Apostle. Another connection is the word ‘urban’ in English language, meaning city related. In other European languages, urban is pronounced as ‘oorbaan.’ Sounds familiar! Most of you know that patriach Abraham lived in the city of Ur (pronounced as oor) in Chaldeya (Genesis 11:28). Interestingly, most of the names of the towns in Kerala end with ‘oor’, e.g Kodungaloor (Cranganoor), Paravoor etc. One may wonder this ‘oor’ has any ancient connection to west Asia.
Some non-Malayalees think that Kerala Christians came into existence after the Europeans came to India and St. Thomas never came to Kerala. However, many Kerala historians including the eminent A. Sreedhara Menon, have the opinion that Kerala was connected to West Asia by the spice trade even before the time of Jesus Christ and Christians existed in Kerala from the first century A.D on wards.
​
West Asian Immigrants
Good historical evidence exists about the immigration of West Asian people to Kerala since the beginning of Christian era. In A.D. 70, when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, an influx of Jewish immigrants to Kerala took place. Similarly, when persecution were very high, Christian immigrants from West Asia also reached the coastal waters of Kerala. The well established arrival of Knai Thoman (Thomas of Canan ) along with 400 West Asian immigrants in A.D. 345 was a very good example. Knai Thoman was an influential Armenian merchant, not Syrian as commonly thought, who probably was living in Jerusalem or somewhere else in West Asia. The ruler of Kodungalloor (Cranganoor ) granted several privilages to Thomas of Canan and other Christians inscribed on copper plates. Thomas of Canan and others settled in the southern side of the river at Cranganoor and were initially reluctant to mix freely with the local Christians. Cranganoor was a major center for Christians in the early centuries. Kollam ( Quilon ) was also a major center for early St. Thomas Christians. In A.D. 823, two Prelates, Mar Sapor and Mar Aphrod came to Quilon along with a Persian merchant, Marwan Sabrieaso and a group of new immigrants from Syria. This exodus might be due to the rising influence of Islam in West Asia during the 8th - 9th centuries. These Christians were granted with the Tharisapally copper plates confering several important rights and privilages by the Emperor Stanu Ravi in A.D. 849. Marwan Sabrieaso rebuilt the Kollam town in A.D. 825 which initiated the Kollam era. These two immigrations are historical landmarks. But other immigrations might also have existed in the early centuries. These details are mentioned in a book, ‘Church history of Travancore’ written by C. M. Agur (Madras) in 1903. The West Asian immigrants slowly spread out from the two major centers, Cranganoor and Quilon into the interior of Kerala. Now, they have mixed with the local Christians and have spread out into central Kerala. Up until recently, a group of Knanaya (Canan ) and Chaldean Christians kept their identity separate all these centuries without mingling with the local Christians in marriage. However, now even they have started mixing with the local Christians. Like the Aryans of Northern India, the West Asian immigrants have blended with the social life and customs in Kerala now. The Kerala people were very tolerant to these immigrants. Other features that indicate West Asian heritage are fair skin and light brown or light green eyes (" poocha kannu") in some people. Most of the people with brown or green eyes are Christians. This is a strong indication of West Asian lineage. Kerala Christians are also called Nazranis, meaning "followers of the man from Nazareth." Sometimes, they are also called Mappilla ( may mean Maha Pilla).
Local Christian Converts
According to tradition, St. Thomas converted local people to Christianity. They belonged to the high castes, namely the Brahmins and the Kshatriyas (Panicker ). Permission was given to only those people of high castes who understood the teachings of Jesus Christ to convert to Christianity. People from all castes should have been allowed to convert to Christianity. But, the Kings probably were afraid to loose many soldiers in the armies if all the people were allowed to convert to Christianity. Some of these high caste converts even now keep their old Hindu house names. e.g. Medamana, Puthenmadam, Sankaramangalam etc. In the beginning of the Christian era, they became converts in small pockets of central Kerala, but now have stretched out all over central Kerala. Many moved to the Western Ghat hill areas to build plantations and estates. Apart from central Kerala, Christian pockets are present in Trivandrum and Vayanadu areas mostly due to migration during 20th century. The West Asian immigrants and local converts have very well mixed among themselves now.
Roman Catholic missionaries visited Kerala and converted people to the Catholic Church long before the arrival of Vasco de Gama in 1498. John of Monte Corvino, who was sent by Pope Nicholas IV as a special missionary to China, on his way stayed some months in India and baptized several hundred people in South India and found that the Church of the Apostle St. Thomas was already there around the year 1292.
After the arrival of Europeans, more people were converted to Christianity mostly from the lower castes. The higher caste Christians were reluctant initially to accept these new Christians into their social life. Slowly, especially after Indian independence, the relationships among all Christians have reached a better understanding.
Christian Names in Perspective
The Christian names in Kerala have undergone evolutionary changes since the beginning of the Christian era. The local Christian converts continued to practice many of the social customs similar to their Hindu counterparts. They even kept their original Malayalam names such as Chathan, Prabhakaran etc. During early 11th century A.D., King Rajasimha made grants to two Christian merchants called Chathan Vadukan and Iravi Chathan. These grants were inscribed on a granite stone lying in front of Thalekkad Roman Catholic Church. Iravi Kottan, a Christian merchant of Mahodayapuram (Cranganoor) was given the office of Manigramam i.e. the headship of the merchants of the place, and other rights and privileges by Vira Raghava Chakravarthi ( Chera emperor ) in A.D. 1225 inscribed on copper plates. The mediator for the treaty between Lopozores, the Captain of Portugese navy and Queen of Quilon in A.D. 1515 was a Christian lady named, Kochukalli. While the local converts used Malayalam names, the West Asian Christian immigrants probably used Biblical names and other West Asian names. Even now, certain non-Christian names such as Thankachan, Ponnachan, Chinnamma etc, are used at least as pet names by Christians. But these non- Christian names are not of Hindu religious origin, rather of Malayalam cultural origin. The Malayalam language was formed sometime between 7th and 9th century A.D. Before that, Tamil was the prevailing language of Kerala and many Christian names of that period might had a Tamil influence.
European Influence
The arrival of Vasco de Gama in 1498 at Kozhikode ( Calicut ) and later other Europeans changed the face of cultural life and names of Kerala Christians. Those Christians who cooperated with the Portugese were given new European names by the Portugese. Antonio Fernandez Chali, a Kerala Christian, held important command under Portugese generals and was raised to the dignity of a Knight of the Military order of Christ. He was given a royal funeral in Goa when he died in action in 1571. Two Kerala Christian youths who returned from Rome in 1541 after higher theological education were known as Don John D'cruz and Don George D'cruz. The mediator for a treaty between Vasco de Gama and King of Cochin in 1503 was named Michael Jogue. The well known Parampil Chandy Metropolitan was given the name, Alexander De Campo by the Portugese. After the arrival of Europeans in Kerala, many people belonging to the Catholic Church especially Latin division started using European style names.
The Kerala Christians began to use Christian names only and ignore old Malayalam names probably after the Synod of Diamper (Udayamperoor) in 1599 convened by Archbishop Menezes. While they were under the Portugese heiarchy, many probably used European names. Since the ' Coonen Kurisu Sathyam ' ( Leaning Cross Oath ) in 1653, Kerala Christians might have adopted Malayalam Christian names. e.g. Pathrose, Paulose etc. These Malayalam names were more prevalent up to the end of 19th century.
Modern Names
The beginning of 20th century brought good English education to Kerala Christians. This, in turn resulted in Christian names in English. e.g. Paul, John etc. Some people are still using the Malayalam Christian names. After the Indian independence in 1947, the craze for unusual names developed among Kerala Christians. Many have conferred North Indian style names especially of movie stars and prominent people upon their children in the 60's to 90's. eg. Mohan, Mithun etc. Some people want their children to have unique names. This has resulted in many made-up names e.g. Joboy, Saji, Shibu etc.The trend to have the names of all children in the family with the same initial alphabet also resulted in many made-up names. The trend continues even now. But many still adhere to the Christian names in English at least in the church records.
Christening Custom of Kerala Christian Children
When a child is born in Kerala, a Christian name is given to the child at the time of baptism. This name or any other given name are not usually used to address the child until the child attains school age. Instead, a gush of pet names are used to call the child. When the child goes to school, a definite name is given to the school register. Traditionally, if the first child is a boy, he will be given the Christian name of his paternal grandfather. The second boy will get the name of his maternal grandfather. The younger boys will usually get the names of uncles or cousins. Similarly, the first girl will get the name of her paternal grandmother. The second girl will get the name of her maternal grandmother. The younger girls will usually get the names of aunts or cousins. The names of relatives are given to the children to avoid teasing by others if names of unrelated persons are given. Even though the grandfather’s name is given to the first son, the family house is usually given to the youngest son.
This tradition may be related to the Jewish tradition prevalent during the period of Jesus Christ. When Zacharias wanted to name his son John ( the Baptist ), his relatives said to Elizabeth, There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name."Luke 1:36 ). Naming a child after a relative is a usual custom of the Sephradic and Ashkenazie Jews even now.
Ethnic Origins of Names
Many Kerala Christian names have their origin from Biblical names, some from the Old Testament and some from the New Testament. The original Biblical names are much closer to their Malayalam variants rather than the English variants.
' Cherian ' is very similar to a common Armenian name, ' Khatcherian.' No mention of Cherian is present in the Bible. Yet, it is a common Armenian name preserved in the same way for the last 2000 years in West Asia. Khatcherian means carrier of cross. Cherian alone means carrier or follower. The ‘Khat’ in Khatcherian is silent. A similar name, ‘Khchirian’ is pronounced with a silent ‘Kh’ so that it very much resembles Cherian. In ancient time, ordinary people were not allowed to pronounce the name of Cross (Khat). This indicates that some Armenians might have migrated to Kerala during the exoduses from West Asia. These Christian Armenians were living either in Jerusalem or other West Asian cities and probably were escaping persecution. Some Armenians were merchants who probably decided to settle in Kerala. During modern era persecutions of Armenians in the begining of 20th century by Turkey, many migrated to India and settled in big cities such as Madras and Calcutta.
' Kuriakose ' is a name of Greek origin ( Kyriakose ). There were Greeks living in West Asia who probably migrated to Kerala with others. Greeks were also good merchants who travelled to Kerala and probably settled there.‘Gewargis’ is an Assyrian name. The variants Gheevarughese and Varghese are commonly used in Kerala. It is difficult to say whether this name was adapted after St. George, the dragon slayer or this name was brought to Kerala by West Asian immigrants.‘Kurian’ may be the Armenian variant of Kuriakose because of the ending with‘ian.’ This name might have been brought to Kerala by west Asian immigrants.‘Ulahannan’ is a variant of the Hebrew name, Elhannan meaning John. Elhannanis the Old testament name, whereas Yohannan is the New testament name.‘Alexander’ is a very popular name worldwide because of Alexander the Great.Alexander is a title originally and is not a name and hence it is very unlikely that name existed before Alexander the Great. Alexander is a common name in Kerala, especially by the variant, ‘Chandy.’ Even though Chandy is a dirty word in Malayalam language, people continue to use it for centuries. Only recently, the alternate name, Alexander was used. Alexander the Great came to Northern part of India and never came to Kerala. No prominent saints with the name Alexander lived in the past centuries. So, why do Kerala Christians keeping the name, Alexander? Most likely, some Kerala Christians have Greek heritage.
​
The current physical make-up of a Kerala Christian may not be corresponding to the ethnic name he or she has. For the last several centuries, much intermarriages and much suntan have occured which makes it difficult to make out a person’s heritage.
How the name Easo came to Kerala
Some of the Christians in Kerala have a name, ' Easo or Easaw ' meaning Jesus. The name, Easo continued to survive several generations during the past several centuries. Easo is not a widespread name, but runs in a few families especially in the southern parts of central Kerala. The name Easo is present among families belonging to Orthodox, Jacobite, Marthomite, Catholic and other denominations. In the northern parts, some of the Knanaya Catholic families also have the name Easo. Since Easo means Jesus, the clergy would never have allowed the widespread use of the name. Those families who continues to use Easo, are not forbidden by the church to use that name.
The Assyrian variant for Jesus is Isho pronounced almost the same as Easo.West Asian sources say Jesus is also known as Easa. Historically, we know that a Marwan Sabrieaso and a group of West Asian immigrants came to Kerala in A.D 823. Marwan Sabrieaso means Our Lord Jesus, the Word. His descendants or relatives most likely continued to use the name Isho (French spelling) for the last several centuries. The name Easo survived in Kerala because of the Kerala tradition of naming a child, Easo after a grandfather named Easo. Sometimes, a child may be named Easo after an uncle or a relative named Easo. Some of the Easos do have light brown or green eyes. Since some members of the Knanaya group also have the name Easo, some Ishos might have reached Kodungaloor along with Knai Thomman in A.D 345. Some others might also have reached other areas of Kerala coast during the time of persecutions.Is there a word similar to Easo in English language? Yes! The ‘eso’ in the word‘esophagus (food pipe)’ is with similar meaning. In dietary terms, ‘eso’ means entrance to food and in religious terms ‘easo’ means entrance to salvation.Neither the modern Greeks, Italians, Germans, French, Americans nor Englishmen use the name Jesus or equivalent to name a child. But, Isho is used in West Asia, especially Iraq and Syria for several centuries. There should be a genuine reason why Easo (Isho), the name of our Lord is used by some of the families in Kerala and West Asia. These Easos might be the descendants of brothers or cousins of James the Just or St. Jude. Some experienced theologicians may be able to give a genuine answer.
Tradition of English and European Names
Many names have their origin in Latin, Greek, German, French or English. Before the 11th century, England was inhabited by a mixture of Celts and Germans (Saxons ). Many old English names like Albert or Randolph are from Germany. After the Norman conquest, French names were common in England. The use of saints' and Latin names in England was introduced by Christianity. During the Middle Ages, last names were introduced because two names became necessary to identify a person. Last names were either place names, occupational names, descriptive names or son-of names. During the Reformation in 16th century, Puritans abandoned the use of saints' names and instead started using Old Testament names. Because there were fewer female names in the Bible, Puritans also named their daughters for admired qualities or merits like Faith or Charity. Girls had flower names like Jasmine or Lilly or Dahlia. Feminine versions of masculine names were also introduced. Americans also had names similar to the English people. Many made-up names are used now because the parents want their children's names stand out as unique. Because the Europeans and the English ruled Kerala for the last four and a half centuries, they left a mark in the Kerala cultural life namely many names, Christian and non-Christian. But the English and Europeans mixed with only a small portion of Kerala Christians.
Titles of Kerala Christians
Kerala Christians were very active in their social life in Kerala. Christians maintained high standards of morality in trade, business, administration etc. Before the arrival of Portugese, Christians were given the administrative power of Quilon town by the local Kings. Christians were actively serving the King of Cochin in politics, in the army and in the administration. Because of these services, Kerala Kings conferred many titles on the Christians. ‘Panicker', 'Vaidyan ', ' Muthalaly ', ' Tharakan ' , ' Pilla ', ' Mappila ' etc are some of the titles given to the well deserved Christians. The name Panicker is given to a martial arts teacher who also commands an army for the King. Vaidyan is a medical doctor of Indian Medicine. Muthalaly and Tharakan are for business people. Pilla and Mappila are for prominent Christian people. Continued use of these titles will indicate to others the glory and community services of the Kerala Christians during the past several centuries.
Naming Kerala Christian Children
In Kerala, naming the children is not difficult. Quite a number of names are handy including the names of relatives and grandfathers. But people today have their own ideas about choosing names for their children. Many parents want to name their children with names that stand out in the crowd. In North America, the Kerala Christians go after modern American names especially for girls. But, some people are also using non-religious Indian names.In Kerala, a name could have three parts. The first name could be a modern or pet name and the middle name could be the Christian name and the last name could be the father's or family name. You don't have to hide your Christian heritage by using non-Christian names. Be proud to use at least one Christian name.In order to save space, the following form has been used in the name sections:
EDWARD: Eng. " Prosperous guardian."
Var. Ed, Eddie, Eddy, Eduard, Ned, Ted, Teddy
Common name in English Royal family.
Translated, this means that the name " Edward " is English in origin, that it means " Prosperous guardian," and " Ed," " Eddie," " Eddy," " Eduard," " Ned," " Ted " and " Teddy " are variants and nicknames of the name " Edward." After that social importance of the name may be discussed.
The origin is attributed to the exact origin of the name, whenever possible, without taking into account of the English version. Some of the ‘Keralanised’ names and their variants are taken from a book, ‘The Indian Christians of St. Thomas’ written by Rev. W. J. Richards(England) in 1908.