Kumar

This is an Indian (Hindi and Gujarati) name which can be either a personal name or in western parlance, a surname. Spelt in the Romanish alphabet as Kumar or Kumaar, it translates as "young boy", and in that sense is not unlike the English medieval surname "Youngman". Both were, and to some extent still are, expressions of endearment for a child. Indian and names from the Far East in general, are creative names, ones that make a true artform of trying to create a symbol of peace and tranquility. They are similar to the German compound surnames of the 18th century known as "Ornamental" which include such examples as Grenberg (Green mountain) or Weissblom (White bush), and which were created deliberatley to be beautiful names. The first Indian names such as Rama, or Hari, were almost all associated with the gods, or in the case of Muslim names, specifically one prophet. Over over the centuries Hindu names have now grown to encompase almost every facet of natural life, and there are now several thousand examples. Indian Independance and the growth of modern life with its emphasis on communications and particularly the telephone, has forced the adoption of "fixed" spellings of family names in the western manner. Almost overnight, surnames like Patel and Singh for instance, have become amongst the largest recorded in the world, at least in the telephone directories, creating many identication problems, yet to be resolved.