Mindy Kaling considered nickname options when deciding upon daughter’s name

Mindy Kaling named her daughter Katherine so she could pick a cool nickname when she gets older.

The Ocean’s 8 star was born with the name Vera Mindy Chokalingam and she opted to use her middle name when she became a teenager and continued to do so when she began her acting career.

So when it came to naming her first child in 2017, she opted for something her daughter could work with.

“Katherine is such a beautiful name, because it has all these possibilities for nicknames,” the The Office star told Access Daily. “She can go by Katie, she can go by Kate – whatever she wants. It gives some versatility for her.

“My first name is Vera and there’s zero nicknames for zero.”

Mindy currently calls her daughter Kit, adding, “I think of it as a journalist’s name… and it’s just such a fun, tomboyish nickname.”

The Mindy Project star welcomed Katherine Swati Kaling, with the middle name honouring her late mother, in December 2017 and she has yet to reveal who the father is.

In October last year, the 41-year-old revealed she had given birth to a second child, a son named Spencer, in September.