The Tradition of Bengali Dak Naam

If you meet a Bengali person, you may discover something interesting: they probably don't have one name, but two!

In countries where the Bengali language is spoken, there is the bhalo naam (ভালো নাম), which literally means good name, and the daak naam (ডাক নাম), which means calling name. The bhalo naam is the formal name used at school, work, on documents, and in other official situations. The daak naam is more like a nickname used by family and close friends. These two names can be completely different from each other.

Bhalo naam and daak naam

The two names have different purposes.

The bhalo naam (ভালো নাম) is the person's proper or formal name. It is the name that appears on official documents and is normally used outside the family. Bengali names can have different cultural and religious influences. In Bangladesh, for example, many formal names have Arabic or Persian origins, while Sanskrit-influenced names are common among Bengali Hindus in India.

The daak naam, on the other hand, is much more personal.

It might be a shortened version of the person's name, a completely different name, a cute childhood name, or simply a word that the family liked. Sometimes it has a particular meaning, but sometimes the meaning is not especially important. What matters is that the name belongs to the person's everyday family life.

This means that a Bengali person's two names can sound as if they belong to two completely different people.

The use of daak naam can also be found outside the main Bengali-speaking areas, including among some communities in places such as Bihar, where there have historically been close cultural and linguistic connections with Bengal.

Sometimes the name can be embarrassing

Of course, not every daak naam is something a person wants everyone to know!

Because many daak naam are chosen when someone is a baby or a small child, the person who receives the name does not always get a say in it. Parents and relatives might choose something that sounds cute when a child is two years old but much less cute when they are twenty-two.

Can you call a Bengali person by their daak naam?

This is where you need to be a little careful.

If someone tells you their daak naam, it does not necessarily mean that everyone is allowed to use it.

Daak naam is generally associated with people who are close to the person. Family members and very close friends may use it naturally. Someone who has only recently met the person should normally use their formal name unless the person specifically invites them to use their daak naam.

Does everyone have a daak naam?

Not everyone has one, and the tradition is changing.

Daak naam has traditionally been very common among Bengali families, but younger generations may use them less often than previous generations did. Modern life is also more connected to schools, workplaces, social media, and official documents, where people generally use their formal names.