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ArchivesUse of Nikita in India
I found that Nikita is used as feminine name in India. Is it a traditional feminine Indian name (in any of the Indian languages) or it is simply the masculine Russian Nikita used as feminine name because of the ending in -a and because it "sounds" like an Indian name?
Thank you very much.
Lumia
http://onomastica.mailcatala.com
Thank you very much.
Lumia
http://onomastica.mailcatala.com
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Replies
Yes, it is. But i believe it's spelt Nikhita
I know a Nikhita (Nikki)
I know a Nikhita (Nikki)
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Thank you you all
The use in Indian girls predates Elton John's song (1985), Luc Besson's film (1990) and the TV series (1997-2001).
It seems another case of use of Western names (as Ajay Rawat said) with the twist of the wrong gender because the ending in -a.
The use in Indian girls predates Elton John's song (1985), Luc Besson's film (1990) and the TV series (1997-2001).
It seems another case of use of Western names (as Ajay Rawat said) with the twist of the wrong gender because the ending in -a.
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South Africa too!
I have taught a South African Chinese girl whose given names were Nikita Bonnie. Also a white South African girl, at another school. I suspect that the -a ending makes people think it's feminine, as you say, and it's also a welcome change from all the Nicole little girls without moving too far away from Nicole/Nicola. I rather suspect also that the Elton John song might mislead people into thinking he was singing to a woman rather than a man ... that would amuse him, I think!
I have taught a South African Chinese girl whose given names were Nikita Bonnie. Also a white South African girl, at another school. I suspect that the -a ending makes people think it's feminine, as you say, and it's also a welcome change from all the Nicole little girls without moving too far away from Nicole/Nicola. I rather suspect also that the Elton John song might mislead people into thinking he was singing to a woman rather than a man ... that would amuse him, I think!
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I was in school with a Nikita and she was born before the Elton John song came out. I wonder did her parents call her after Khrushkhev.
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I've known at least one female Nikita in the US too.
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Would it have been an immigrant name in the 19th century? Perhaps that would explain firstly its use and then, when the families had assimilated, its disuse. Only if there were enough Slavic immigrants to make an impression on the statistics, though!
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I think you misunderstood my saying "it's never been on the SSA list since 1880." 1880 is the very first year the SSA list starts. So we don't have that data before that year, and can't say anything about the use of Nikita in the USA before that date, one way or the other, from that data alone. So my statement does NOT imply that Nikita was among the top 1000 names for boys before 1880. :)
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The latter, though (1) I do not know the exact cultural genealogy (i.e., the event or events that made it popular may not have involved a Russian: e.g., I do not think Nikita Sergeyevich Krushchev is directly responsible for the feminine Indian name) and, (2) in particular, I do not think that use as feminine started in India: for example, La Femme Nikita, I believe, has no Indian antecedents, and, it is very likely that when Indian parents used the name, it was already feminine in the source culture.
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Names like Nikita, Natasha, Monica, Sonya sound like Indian names and they have become popular too among Indians. Indian feminine names usually have a suffix which gives the sound "a" to them, therefore it's possible that Nikita in spite of being a masculine name in Russian language is used as a feminine name, though it's very much possible that people are not aware of it being Russian and masculine. Similar is the case with name Sonam which I found is a Tibetan masculine name, but in India it's used as a feminine name. It's the sound which makes people to decide whether it should be a feminine or masculine name. The name Savita means Sun and Shashi means Moon, both being considered as Indian gods , but these names are considered suitable for girl. Recently, people have been deducting "a" from some names and forming masculine names like priyank from priyanka, anit from anita, arpit from arpita.
This message was edited 6/21/2009, 8:30 PM
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