India (given name)
India is a feminine given name derived from the name of the country India, which takes its name from the Indus River. The name was used for India Wilkes, a character in the novel and movie "Gone with the Wind". Its use for girls in England began during the British rule in India during the 19th century. It has been used for daughters of aristocratic families in England that had ties to Colonial India, such as India Hicks. Just like names derived from seasons like Summer, Dawn, Solstice, Autumn are feminine, India is internationally recognized as a female name since it is the name of a country and it had been used as a feminine given name for more than hundred years in England and the U.S. Although India is a feminine given name in the world, it is not a popular given name in India. Girls who are given this name are usually called with a nickname "Indy", or "Indie" which are also given names for girls in English speaking countries.
Renaming of cities in India
In the post-colonial era, several Indian states' names were changed. Some of these changes coincided with the States Reorganisation Act of 1956, a major reform of the boundaries of India's states and territories that organised them along linguistic lines. At this time, for example, Travancore-Cochin was renamed Kerala. Later state name changes include the reorganisation of Madhya Bharat into Madhya Pradesh in 1959; and the renamings of the Madras State to Tamil Nadu in 1969, of the Mysore State to Karnataka in 1973, and of Uttaranchal to Uttarakhand in 2007.