08-05-2006, 01:33 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Surnames are important, so that future generations remember their ancestors. It's a sense of identity and a connection with the past......
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To know the greatness behind one's name will make one want to emulate that.
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I heartily agree. For eg.: people with surnames like "Vajapeyam" in the south, and Vajpayee/Bajpai in the North must have had ancestors who participated in the Vajapeyam, the greatest of the Soma sacrifices.
Similarly, the surname Akkitthiripad among Keralites means, some ancestor has performed an Agnichayana, another of the Somayaagas.
This may also be effective with what might be called repeated names, namely, first names repeated across generations of descendants. For eg.: among the Telugus is the name "Somayajulu"; this usually means that some ancestor has performed one of the Soma sacrifices, and has taken the title "Somayaji" as a result.
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To know the greatness behind one's name will make one want to emulate that.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I heartily agree. For eg.: people with surnames like "Vajapeyam" in the south, and Vajpayee/Bajpai in the North must have had ancestors who participated in the Vajapeyam, the greatest of the Soma sacrifices.
Similarly, the surname Akkitthiripad among Keralites means, some ancestor has performed an Agnichayana, another of the Somayaagas.
This may also be effective with what might be called repeated names, namely, first names repeated across generations of descendants. For eg.: among the Telugus is the name "Somayajulu"; this usually means that some ancestor has performed one of the Soma sacrifices, and has taken the title "Somayaji" as a result.