Names (མིང་) form an important part of a person’s identity, providing conventional and agreed-upon labels in order to identify an individual. Bhutan’s naming culture is remarkable in terms of how names are given and used, and in what they mean or signify.

Giving a new name

Names in Bhutan are not usually passed down from generation to generation, nor are they chosen by parents. Rather, names are given through ‘divine intervention’. Most often this takes the form of the parents requesting a religious figure to give a name. In principle, when a name is requested, the lama then goes into a meditative state during which the name comes to his/her mind fortuitously. These types of names are considered to be the most auspicious. In the past, the overwhelming majority of names in Bhutan were bestowed in this way by lamas, and the names generally denote great Buddhist persons, concepts, and principles.

It is a common practice to get new names throughout one's life. If an important lama is visiting a village, throngs of devotees queue up for blessing and many of them would ask for names for their young children. When asked to name a child, the lama can be seen stopping all other activities, thinking momentarily before providing the name that comes to the mind. This has become very taxing for some famous lamas who get too many requests that they have resorted to carrying with them a large stock of name combinations printed on slips, which they hand out when a name is requested. Some lamas also use the naming tradition to impart their blessing and perhaps mark their influence by incorporating a part of their own name to the new name.

Before bestowing a name, the lamas or their attendants usually ask the gender of the child, however, sometimes a lama is asked to name a baby in the womb. A lama can provide a name that works for both genders, or may take a bolder step and give a gender-specific name. In this latter case, if the name ends up corresponding to the gender of the child, the lama is attributed as having clairvoyant knowledge. If the name does not correspond, parents often get a new name. Today, prenatal ultrasound scans help parents overcome this problem for the lamas.

Names are also given by parents who have some religious authority or also by the priest who writes the newborn child’s horoscope. In the case of names acquired through astrological calculation, children are often named after the days of the week, constellations, or heavenly features associated with the moment of their birth. Thus, a staggering number of Bhutanese have a day of the week as their first name. Alternately, a priestly elder may open a religious text to a random point and give the first name he encounters in the book. Some people have names associated with a holy place or person, for example, Kunley as a connection to Drukpa Kunlé (1455-1529), and Chogyal in association with the dance of Shinjé Chogyal.

Sometimes, more familiar names given by relatives or friends as terms of endearment, such as Nado (Dark), Kado (Fair), Tegpo (Stout) or Kuchu (Small) gain currency. A good number of Bhutanese are known by these nicknames rather than by the name bestowed by a religious person. At times, children will be given names and /or dressed in clothes of the opposite gender, with the belief that doing so will avert malicious spirits and misfortunes. This does not persist beyond early childhood, and children generally grow up with names that are appropriate for their gender.

While usually new names are given to babies, occasionally adults receive new names as they undergo rites of passage such as monastic ordination or initiation into a tantric practice. As these and other rites signify the beginning of a new life and identity, a new name reflects new outlooks, goals, and priorities. In these ways, many Bhutanese have different names at various stages in life, though it is usually the one that is most common that appears on one’s citizenship identity card and school certificates. More frequently these days, parents increasingly choose their childrens' names.

Karma Phuntsho is the Director of Shejun Agency for Bhutan’s Cultural Documentation and Research, the President of the Loden Foundation and the author of The History of Bhutan. The piece was initially published in Bhutan’s national newspaper Kuensel in a series called Why We Do What We Do.