In Nepali culture names matter as they give the presence of the ancient past and social interactions and position. In this short section we give some examples as insights into culture, psychology, and some internationally famous names associated with Nepal and the Nepali people.
Perhaps the single most famous Nepali family names, of international renown, are ‘Sherpa’ and ‘Lama.’ Whilst beyond these, ‘Gurkha’ – the adjusted Western [British] context name of ‘Gorkha’ in Nepal and used across South Asia – is almost a global brand name of Nepal in the field of military courage and prowess. In the Sherpa component of this information resource we look more closely at the names ‘Sherpa’ and ‘Everest,’ but here we note in addition to these two words associated with the Himalaya and the peoples of the world’s highest mountains. These are ‘North Face’ (or ‘The North Face’) – associated with the hardest side of Mt Everest, to climb – ‘Lama’ (most famously associated with the Dalai Lama (and to some extent Panchen Lama), the name of many people in the Himalayan part of Nepal, and ‘Mustang’: the latter a region of the Nepali Himalayas, but made famous as renowned fighter plane of the Second World War, and a classic car.
Names matter to anyone interest in the actual identity characteristics and history of a place, country, people, and beyond the international profiled names relating to the Himalaya, personal and family names for instance take one to the heart of ancient culture, folklore, religion, spirituality, and human psychology. We provide some examples of names below associated with ancient culture, caste, and religions from Hinduism (especially figures/heroes/heroines in Hindu epics, such as the Ramayana, and Mahabharata) at Pan-South Asian and Nepal specific levels:
- ‘Sita’: a very popular forename for Nepali women of all castes. Name of the Consort of Lord Rama, seventh Avatar of the God Vishnu, famous for his slaying of the demon king Ravana (from which the name ‘ravenous’ is derived)
- ‘Acharya’: a surname – literally meaning ‘master’ it is a caste derived name often used by families of the Bahun/Brahmin caste
- ‘Chhetri’: a surname – an upper caste derived name.
- ‘Sagar’: a popular forename. In the Sherpa section of the information resource the word ‘Sagar’ appeared in the note on the Nepali name – Sagarmatha — given in the late 19th Century to Chomolungma, the World’s highest mountain, better known as Mt Everest: Sagar meaning ‘sky’ and ‘matha’ head. Here an example of a celestial name with related auspicious character associations.
- ‘Tej’: meaning literally ‘brilliant’
- ‘Uttam’: meaning ‘Excellent’
- ‘Bhimsen’: a Nepali forename, associated with the Nepali god of the same name – God of Income. Reputed as ferocious and auspicious
- ‘Tamrakar’: Newari name – meaning Coppersmith
- ‘Chitrakar’: Newari name – associated with painting and being an artist.
We conclude with the words ‘Namaste’ / ‘Namaskar’: this is the famous salutation of greeting and farewell used in Nepali and Indian cultures and globally famous as such. It literally means ‘I salute the god within you.’ Both words have the same meaning and reflect the Nepali (and Hindustani) affirmation of life being essentially a spiritual phenomenon; culturally the two versions speak of the reverence for differences of types and levels of respect towards for example those who are older than yourself or who hold high positions and posts (for these Namaskar, not Namaste, is used). A completely different word for Namaste is used by the Sherpa People – ‘Tasidelek’ – as such re-emphasising that Nepali is a truly multi-ethnic, multicultural country of diverse peoples and cultures.