What’s in a celeb kid’s name: Divine, different

SAMISHA ANAYRA MAISIL VAMIKA

The year 2020 saw a number of celebrities welcoming new members in their family. And the good news spilled over to 2021 as well, with actor Anushka Sharma and cricketer Virat Kohli welcoming their bundle of joy late last month. The couple recently revealed they’ve named their daughter Vamika, triggering a search by netizens for the meaning of this unique name. So what do parents have in mind while choosing a name for their newborn? Dr Acharya Vinod Kumar, Vedic and celebrity astrologer, says ‘rare’ is now common. “Clients usually prefer names of Goddess Durga or Lakshmi, for daughters, and Lord Shiva, Vishnu, or even Lord Kartikeya, for sons,” he shares.

Here are some beautiful names celebrities have given their kids born since 2020:

The daughter of actor Shilpa Shetty Kundra and businessman Raj Kundra, ‘Sa’ in Sanskrit means ‘to have’, while ‘Misha’ in Russian stands for ‘someone like God’, according to the actor. In other words it spells prosperity.

The name of the daughter of actor-comedian Kapil Sharma and his wife Ginni Chatrath, this word, which is of Sanskrit origin, means joy or a symbol of happiness. It is also one of the names of Goddess Lakshmi.

Actor Freddy Daruwala chose unique names for both his sons. While Evaan, born in 2019, means gracious gift of God, Maisil, born in 2020, is a name of Persian origin, and means a warrior.

The name of Anushka and Virat’s daughter, born on January 11 this year, Vamika is a name for Goddess Durga. It is the name of the female half of Ardhanarishwar, a composite form of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.

Ihope there are some surprises planned on the sets,” says actor Varun Sharma, who turns 31 today, adding he is going to be working on his birthday as that’s the way he likes it. “Being on the sets, filming this beautiful film, Cirkus, celebrating it with the crew will be fun. I wish to be with my family in the evening, cut a cake with them and get back again to face the camera, doing something that I love to do,” says Sharma.

Being a Punjabi, he admits he gets excited for birthdays but adds he likes to be a bit low-key. “Every birthday celebration is special and every year it’s a different vibe. I remember, two years ago, I was shooting in Amritsar and had celebrated my birthday in my home town, Jalandhar with my childhood friends. They came to surprise me, it was so sweet,” he reminisces.

Often people have goals and try to tick them off – be it buying a home, travelling, work or even marriage. So, what goals has he ticked off at 31? “I think

I’m very content with the way my life is going. The biggest thing I think I’ve ticked off is my dream of becoming an actor. I got chances to play amazing characters which embedded me in people’s hearts. People smile when they look at me, I think that’s the biggest goal tick-off,” he shares.

Ask if marriage is a goal in the near future and he says, “With the grace of all, my mother has not started to push me for marriage until now.”