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SILICON VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, May 15, 2005: Arjun, the warrior-prince of the Mahabharata, and Maya were the most popular names given to baby boys and girls respectively by Indians in the United States. The name Arjun was given to 247 boys last year, ranking it 741 in the list of 1,000 most popular baby names in the US, compiled by the Department of Social Security Administration. The popularity of the name has been increasing steadily since 2001 when it was ranked 977. Aditya, the most popular name for the year 2003, ranked 743 as the second most popular Indian choice. The name was chosen for 246 babies. Other male names that found a place in the list of 1000 are Pranav, Samir, Nikhil, Arnav, Rishi and Rahul. Among female Indian names, Maya ranked first (85 overall rank), followed by Tara (323) and Shreya (853). Overall, Emily and Jacob remained the top names for girls and boys respectively in the United States. Emily has been the most popular female name since 1996, while Jacob has been topping the chart since 1999 for boys.





India as a girl’s name ranked 478th position, a tribute to the lasting legacy of the 1939 movie “Gone With the Wind” in which a principle female character was named “India Wilkes”–and, incidentally, the planation featured in the film was named “Tara.”

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