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.
Names for India
Tianzhu or Tenjiku () (originally pronounced xien-t'juk) is the historical East Asian name for India that comes from the Chinese transliteration of the Persian "Hindu", which itself is derived from the Sanskrit "Sindhu", the native name of the Indus River. "Tianzhu" is one of several Chinese transliterations of Sindhu. "Juandu" () appears in Sima Qian's Shiji and "Tiandu" () is used in the Hou Hanshu (Book of the Later Han). "Yintejia" () comes from the Kuchean "Indaka", another transliteration of "Hindu". A detailed account of Tianzhu is given in the "Xiyu Zhuan" (Record of the Western Regions) in the "Hou Hanshu" compiled by Fan Ye (398–445):