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ArchivesRe: Indian/Hindu Name
in reply to a message by Jyo
I have no information on ruhi, but ...
I am confused. Arabic is a language and Hinduism is a religio-cultural trait. I do not know Arabic nor do I know Persian and ruhi, for all I know, could be etymologically related to rukh for wind, or a cluster of words for breath and soul. That has, however, little to do with its being used in the Hindu community: and I suspect that some names used in this community are etymologically not derived from Sanskrit. In fact, once you notice that the word Hindu is itself of Persian origin (a loan word into Persian of the Sanskrit word Sindhu meaning water and not having any religious connotation!), it is even more odd to call a name non-Hindu simply because it has a non-Sanskrit origin. And, then, I am not sure what to think about borrowings into Sanskrit, and of words whose origin is from the Austrasiatic, Dravidian, or Tibeto-Burmese families ... Also, the definition of who is a Hindu is quite simply non-existant, so that even with all the data it is not always meaningful to ask with what frequency a particular name is used by the Hindus.
So, the question you could be interested in is whether Ruhi is used by a significant number of people who call themselves Hindus. The evidence of the websites, I believe, answers this in the affirmative, for some definition of a significant number (this is a kind of thing that the websites are likely to get right).
I am confused. Arabic is a language and Hinduism is a religio-cultural trait. I do not know Arabic nor do I know Persian and ruhi, for all I know, could be etymologically related to rukh for wind, or a cluster of words for breath and soul. That has, however, little to do with its being used in the Hindu community: and I suspect that some names used in this community are etymologically not derived from Sanskrit. In fact, once you notice that the word Hindu is itself of Persian origin (a loan word into Persian of the Sanskrit word Sindhu meaning water and not having any religious connotation!), it is even more odd to call a name non-Hindu simply because it has a non-Sanskrit origin. And, then, I am not sure what to think about borrowings into Sanskrit, and of words whose origin is from the Austrasiatic, Dravidian, or Tibeto-Burmese families ... Also, the definition of who is a Hindu is quite simply non-existant, so that even with all the data it is not always meaningful to ask with what frequency a particular name is used by the Hindus.
So, the question you could be interested in is whether Ruhi is used by a significant number of people who call themselves Hindus. The evidence of the websites, I believe, answers this in the affirmative, for some definition of a significant number (this is a kind of thing that the websites are likely to get right).
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Replies
When i went through the The Book Of Hindu Names by Maneka Gandhi, i see that its a sanskrit name.
You are right the evidence of websites show this as a Hindu name.
But when i googled for its origin, found to be arabic. Also couple of friends whom i met, they have friends with the same name and and are from bahrain/Pak.
Thanks once again for your response.
You are right the evidence of websites show this as a Hindu name.
But when i googled for its origin, found to be arabic. Also couple of friends whom i met, they have friends with the same name and and are from bahrain/Pak.
Thanks once again for your response.
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What is the meaning/etymology/usage according to Maneka Gandhi?
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Ruhi(Sanskrit)(Female): ascending, of higher value, soul .
If you have to pick the name from the below choice. What would it be?
Ruhi > Soul
Riya > Singer
Rima
Saanvi > Goddes Lakshmi
Shloka
Nivrithi > bliss
Nikitha > sharp
Prisha >Beloved, loving/god's gift
Sahana
Niyathi > Destiny
Akshita
Maanya > worthy of honor
Mahika > the earth
Mishka > Gift of Love
Medha > intellect, Goddess Saraswati
If you have to pick the name from the below choice. What would it be?
Ruhi > Soul
Riya > Singer
Rima
Saanvi > Goddes Lakshmi
Shloka
Nivrithi > bliss
Nikitha > sharp
Prisha >Beloved, loving/god's gift
Sahana
Niyathi > Destiny
Akshita
Maanya > worthy of honor
Mahika > the earth
Mishka > Gift of Love
Medha > intellect, Goddess Saraswati
1
Thank you. Is the meaning singer for Riya also from there? I have been searching for the etymology of riya for a while, so I would appreciate if you could help me.
Unless there is more evidence, I would be careful with trusting this meaning of ruhi. The root ruh/rudh in Sanskrit (and Vedic) does mean to grow, rise up, climb, etc. but getting ruhi from it is not Sanskrit. (Sanskrit has a strong ablaut system which would make the first vowel -o- in this context, and neither do I recognize the feminine formation in -i.) It is certainly possible that in some modern Indian language that I do not know ruhi does mean ascending, but I do not think it is a word in Sanskrit.
I am also not clear where the many of the other meanings you quoted come from, and I have my doubts ... are they all from the same book?
Unless there is more evidence, I would be careful with trusting this meaning of ruhi. The root ruh/rudh in Sanskrit (and Vedic) does mean to grow, rise up, climb, etc. but getting ruhi from it is not Sanskrit. (Sanskrit has a strong ablaut system which would make the first vowel -o- in this context, and neither do I recognize the feminine formation in -i.) It is certainly possible that in some modern Indian language that I do not know ruhi does mean ascending, but I do not think it is a word in Sanskrit.
I am also not clear where the many of the other meanings you quoted come from, and I have my doubts ... are they all from the same book?
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