Nandini the Wish-Granting Cow

I have been meeting new people lately and when I told them my name they would first find it hard to pronounce and then they would ask the meaning of my name.

All these time the only thing I knew about my name was that it meant "cow". Yes, "cow". That is not a good thing here in the US, being a cow.

Anyway, I googled my name and found out that the name was actually derived from the word "Nandini". My creative parents then made it into "Andini".

This is the meaning of my name:

In Sanskrit, it means daughter. It is generally used as a first name for girls. The root, nand, refers to delight, pleasure, enjoyment. The Sanskrit word nadana

In Hindu mythology, Nandini (Sanskrit: नन्‍दिनी or नंदिनी, "the enjoying") is the name of a wish-granting cow, the child of Kamadhenu and asitharishi Vasistha. She (Nandini) was owned by Sage Vasishtha and lived in his ashram.

Nandini .... means daughter, one who brings joy, Ganga, Goddess Durga.

Nandini in Bengali also means beloved daughter and one of the 108 names for the Hindu Goddess, the God Parvati (Parvathi) or Ma Durga who is the wife of the God Shiva.

How awesome is that? Thank you, creative parents!