Opinion on boy name

getmoksha

My husband's name means the sun and coincidentally, I worship the sun (the sungod :-)). We were looking at easy names to name a boy (I'm a FTM) and finally both agree on Vihaan (pronounced Vee-Haan) - which means the first rays of the son (in an indian language). Its our first born so we think it will be apt.

We live in the US, my husband was born and raised here (though he is of indian origin) and wants an easy name that doesn't get butchered in the playground. I want a meaningful name.

How does it sound to you?

MSJM2010

I'm not a fan.  I've never heard it before and I feel like you will get a lot of mis-pronunciations.

bearkatjen

I like it. There will be some mispronunciations, but nothing major or difficult to over come. I know lots of kids and adults with ethnic names, and their friends and peers have no problem learning their names and pronouncing and spelling them correctly.

kerribear1717

I think from how it's spelled the pronunciation is actually pretty straight forward.  If you plan the raise you child in your culture then go for it.  I've known plenty of people with Indian origin and they've lived all their lives here in the US, but their parents (and them too) are very strong in their culture.  And most of them have way harder names than Vihaan.

sbuxsweetie

What about Ravi? That's a sun-related name, I think.

globetrotting7

It's an easy to pronounce name because it's phonetic. I like it and I really like the meaning behind it.  

My ds is 13 months old and has an Indian name because dh is Indian, I am Polish. People aren't prepared for a foreign name when they ask "What's his name?". They ask me to repeat it, nod their head, or say "Oh!" They have no clue that his name is even Indian.  His name is beautiful, easy to pronounce, remember, but because people are so closed-minded when it comes to names they expect a top 100 name. The best part is when they ask if he's Chinese or if I adopted him. 

Bottom line, the people that really matter will love your son's name, make adorable nn for him. Who cares about the others? 

alehayes

sbuxsweetie:

What about Ravi? That's a sun-related name, I think.

I think Ravi is cute!  I think it would be easier for him on the playground, but still have meaning. 

krb03

I really like it and the cultural/family connection.

marisha1021

Very cool... love the cultural connection. Probably won't be 5 other kids with that name in his class, so that's even better IMO. 

af1274

I don't think it's too bad as far as pronounciation.

If you're interested in looking for other names with the same meaning, behindthename.com has this list:

https://www.behindthename.com/php/search.php?terms=sun&nmd=m&gender_term=both&operator=or

And just as an aside, Cleopatra had boy/girl twins and named them for the sun and moon. Her son's name was Alexander Helios (Helios being greek for sun) and her daughter's name was Cleopatra Selene (Selene being greek for moon). I always thought that was really cool, and I like the meaning and culture behind your name

LoCarb

kerribear1717:

I think from how it's spelled the pronunciation is actually pretty straight forward.  If you plan the raise you child in your culture then go for it.  I've known plenty of people with Indian origin and they've lived all their lives here in the US, but their parents (and them too) are very strong in their culture.  And most of them have way harder names than Vihaan.

This. I would have pronounced it vee-han based on the spelling. The meaning and the culture mean something to you-use it.

KitchenElf

I don't think it's overly hard to pronounce and I like the meanings and the connection to your DH's culture.  I say go for it.

Pictures29

I think the pronunciation is pretty straightforward. I would've assumed it was Vee-haan from the spelling, I really don't see any problem with using the name.