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Sikhism |
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Sikh names are the names used by Sikhs. The basis of Sikh personal-names are selected through the naam karan ceremony. Nearly all Sikh personal-names carry religious meanings. The usage of Singh or Kaur in a Sikh name is mandated after baptism into the Khalsa and based upon gender. Since the colonial-period, Sikhs have adopted using their caste or clan as a surname and instead use Singh or Kaur as a middle-name rather than a surname. Some Sikhs adopt Khalsa as their surname to mark a departure from any caste identifications based upon names. Trends and systems of Sikh names have changed over time, with a notable shift has been the ending of using gendered name endings toward names being unisex and the popularization of including certain prefixes and suffixes to create dithematic names.