The need for a brighter name is an essential requirement for people of any generation as demonstrated by two friends of mine. Like actors of every generation, my friend Vineeth Ullanat Chembuzha, who realized he will get nowhere in film industry with that surname, changed it to Vineeth Viswam and now already has five films to his credit. Or his namesake Vineeth S, who has been experimenting with his surname since I first met him. He first changed his surname to his birthplace of Kottakal, then switched back to his father's name. A year later he added his mother's name with his name. Now he has his company name (a spoken English school he started) as his last name. The kind of socialist he is, pretty sure he'll adopt his wife's first name followed by his son's first name as his surname in future.
Couple of days ago, I read this article which claimed names determined the kind of character you will be perceived as. The article asserts that name can have an influence on the career path one might choose to follow. Usain Bolt would agree. So will both Vineeths, for that matter.
My real name, the name my father whispered into my ears twenty eight days after I was born was Sreekumaran. Of course after my grandfather Sreekumaran, the senior. You see, according to the traditions followed in a priestly community in which I was born into, a child is named after his/her grandfather/mother. But as my father recognized, this name wasn't fancy enough for the twenty first century, hence he changed it to Sharat when he enrolled me in a school.
