syrian christian takes his own name which is the name of his paternal grandfather, the name of his father and his house or 'tharavad' name. He may make any of these his surname and hence he may be G.J. Olikara, G' for Gevarghese (name of paternal grandfather), 'J' for John(name of father) and 'Olikara' for name of his ancestral house from where the line of his paternal family descends. He may be the son of O.G. John, 'O' for Olikara(name of the house), 'G' for Gevarghese (name of father) and 'J' for John(name of paternal grandfather). It was customary that the eldest son be given the name of his paternal grandfather and the eldest daughter the name of her maternal grandmother. The second son bears the name of his maternal grandfather and the second daughter bears the name of her maternal grandmother.