Do names matter?

[Guest Squid]

I think a similar thread was open in the past about this topic so please feel free to merge the two threads if needed.

Ive noticed a trend in second generation punjabis naming there children non gurmant names. Names like - Ricky, Tanya, Tanisha, Rhianna, Danyal, Alisha, Eliza, Tia... these are just a few names I have heard of in my family circul alone! Some of these names sound Hindu and other muslims or English. I even have a Punjabi friend who has names his two siblings Dillon and Vikram.

I understand the typical Jeet, Preet, Deep names just don't sound all that appealing anymore but is it ok to have such non sikh sounding names?

we as a community have lost so much of are own identity, we are rapidly losing are faith and decreasing in numbers, can we really justify losing are names also? 

[Guest Jacfsing2]

To understand this concept of why people are giving their kids non-Punjabi names, you have to understand people are dynamic with a mix of identities, (you have to understand that before anything else). The reason people are giving their children western names is because they view the west as their key identity. When someone is of multiple group, one group is usually the dominant one, and that identity that you are closest to will represent you for the rest of your life. That is why people are giving their kids these names.

But you are completely right, if the Sikh identity will be our key identity it has to live in name as well.