Who Am I?

  Firstborn, male child. A unique name, one that shows up in the barest signs of history. Named after no one, and no other name in line. The name reflects on the parents and on the child, but with a name such as this, very little about its origins can be found. All of this leads me to ask, who am I?

The name Siddhant means ‘man of principles’. Part of the Sanskrit language, the name Siddhant or its variation first occurred in Indian history as the Surya Siddhanta, written in Sanskrit. The name is most commonly used in India, though it is said to be a unique name even here. Only 25 baby boys were named Siddhant in 2020, meaning 1 out of every 73,257. It is a unique name that has never been part of a trend. The name Siddhant is looked at as lesser due to how far it is in the alphabet. However, this increases the importance of such people.

The name Siddhant is associated with many great characteristics. When people hear the name, Siddhant, they perceive him as someone sympathetic, compassionate, and generous. People named Siddhant are often looked to for support and help. They are often similar to maternal or paternal figures in the way they guide and support the other person through tough times. People named Siddhant often do not care about fashion and prefer to stay away from anything associated with this.

Surprisingly, the book Surya Siddhanta is one of the earliest scriptures of astronomy. The book details the different planets and how to calculate various aspects of them, leading me to believe that Siddhant might have occurred before that in conversations regarding the subject of astronomy. 

My father was the one who chose my name. Both my parents agreed that such a name would suit both them and me, allowing me to transform into a good human being. For them, this name stood out due to its uniqueness and meaning. With my sister, a very similar process was followed as they had these names in mind for a long time. Interestingly, none of my extended family has ever commented on my name. Now, and even back then, all of them were fully supportive of it. I never really did understand this system, as I have no idea how they stumbled across the name, and my parents don’t remember this either. However, such a steadfast belief in this name did relieve my parents of long sleepless nights where they would sit together and look for baby names.

I experience the consequences of having my name misspelled or shortened into nicknames as people find it too long to say. The misspelling part is something that really hurts, as they are unable to put enough effort to understand a simple name. Not only students, but even some of my tests that have been graded also have my name written wrong. Such things invoke rage and hurt, as I try my best to not make these mistakes and sincerely hope that others try to do the same.

The nicknames, sometimes rude, are mostly a way of lightening up the atmosphere when I get too tense. They don’t bother me too much, as I reply back in the same manner. However, some of them do cross the line, which then requires a reprimanding of why it hurts. I believe a name shapes your personality as you try to live up to the meaning of your name or any qualities that it might possess. Names are very important, as they shape our lives the moment they are chosen. A case in point is the book “The Namesake” by Jhumpa Lahiri. The book highlights the difficulties a boy has with his name and why it was selected as such.

I think about my name in no different manner than before. I had already done extensive research on it before this task and knew about its origin, background, meaning, and factors. However, I realized how common names are in a country of 1.3 billion people, most of which are Hindu and have their language as Hindi. Naming conventions also follow no patterns at all in India, as the names are generally picked by a Saint or an astrologer of sorts.