India
Alicia Rhett portrayed India Wilkes in the 1939 film Gone with the Wind.
GenderFemale
Language(s)English
Origin
MeaningIndia

India is a feminine given name derived from the name of the country India, which itself takes its name from the Indus River.[1] The name was used for India Wilkes, a character in the novel and film Gone with the Wind. [2] Its use for girls in England began during the British rule in India during the 19th century. It has been used for daughters of aristocratic families in England that had ties to Colonial India, such as India Hicks. It has had an exotic image in the Anglosphere and also is similar in sound to other fashionable names such as Olivia and Sophia.[3] In more recent years, some critics have viewed use of the name for non-Indian girls as problematic because they say it evokes the British Raj and colonialism.[4] Although India is a feminine given name in the world, it is not a popular given name in India.

Usage

The name has been used in the Anglosphere since at least the 19th century. In the United States it ranked among the top 1,000 names for girls at different points between 1880 and 1911. It then declined in use but has had renewed popularity beginning in 1970 and was again among the 1,000 most popular names for American girls at different points between 1970 and 2022. It has been among the 200 most popular names for girls in the United Kingdom since 1996 and among the 100 most popular names for girls in Spain since 2017.[5]

People named India

Animals named India

Fictional characters named India

India as a family name

People with the surname India include:

Notes

  1. ↑ Behind the Name
  2. ↑ Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006). Oxford Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press. p. 129. ISBN 0-19-861060-2.
  3. ↑ https://appellationmountain.net/india-baby-name-of-the-day/
  4. ↑ https://nameberry.com/babyname/india
  5. ↑ https://www.behindthename.com/name/india
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