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Anupam Mittal also explained the reason for choosing the name, Anantara – a Sanskrit word meaning “limitless.”
The Shaadi.com founder named her daughter Alyssa Anantara. (Photo Credits: Linkdin)
Amid growing debate over gender equality, Shaadi.com founder Anupam Mittal has made a strong statement. The entrepreneur, in a recent LinkedIn post, shared that he gave his daughter a unique middle name, defying a traditional Indian naming custom. Women in this country generally use their fathers’ names, which get replaced by their husbands’ names after marriage. Mittal, however, didn’t want his daughter to be part of this patriarchal practice. So, while in most of India, the “father’s first name automatically gets passed down”, his family chose to give their daughter Alyssa a stand-out middle name – Anantara.
“It’s a quiet tradition. So quiet, in fact, that most don’t question it. But we did. And instead of Alyssa Anupam, we named her Alyssa Anantara,” Mittal wrote on LinkedIn. He also explained the reason for going with “Anantara”, a Sanskrit word meaning “limitless”.
“Rooted in Ananta, another name for Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom. It’s a small thing. A name. But also…not so small,” Mittal added in his post, voicing his support for promoting gender equality.
Taking up the rare decision, the business professional tried to convey a few messages to his daughter: “You don’t have to carry forward anyone’s legacy, you are not defined by the men in your life, and you are free to write your own story.”
“In a world where women are still introduced as someone’s daughter, someone’s wife, someone’s mother…we just wanted her to start as herself. This wasn’t a grand gesture. It won’t change the world. But for us, it felt like the right place to begin. A quiet way to say that we believe in equality, in her, her choices and her future! And that felt enough,” Mittal explained further.
His post struck the right chords in the hearts of many LinkedIn users. One of them was quick to admit, “This is so wonderful. She would grow up and remember this at every pivot of life, though these gestures may seem small.”
“Parents like you set the gold standard for nurturing daughters, not by imposing societal expectations, but by empowering them to forge their paths. It’s truly inspiring to see a father who encourages his child to grow authentically, embracing her unique journey rather than conforming to external pressures,” commented an individual.
Another person shared a similar experience, saying, “This resonated with me. We recently welcomed our baby girl too, and named her Thakur Aira Sing. “Aira” means noble, pure, and brave—qualities we hope she embraces on her own terms. Like you, we wanted her name to be her own.” The post has garnered more than 16,000 reactions on Linkedin.
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