New Delhi, May 21 (IANS): It has been often noticed that when the horoscopes of the prospective bride and groom don't match, the woman is asked to change her first name. The name change, however, doesn't have any impact on the marriage and life after that, say experts.

Bhupesh Sharma, an astro scientist and founder of Astrobuddy, and astrologer Tanya Gupta shed some light on the misconception and why it shouldn't be followed:

* Destiny is based on the planetary movements and the charts a person is born with, irrespective of the name.

* Before the parents even decide the name of the child, the child is already born with the destiny of his or her own in a particular house.

* Your name is the first identity given to you by your parents, so you have every right to keep it. There is no such astrological relevance of name change.

* Always a girl's name is advised to be changed, why not the guy's? It looks sexist in the broader perspective of life and reflects a clear domination of men.

* It's a myth that a girl's destiny can be changed by changing her name after marriage as she has been already married to the person and family she was supposed to. So, suddenly changing the name won't help.

* It is a myth which prevails when the change of name of girl is concerned. People are made to believe that changing the name of girl will bring luck to the lives of the couple, which is not true.

* These myths were created by religious priests much earlier than the prevalent astrology was introduced in India. It would be appropriate to mention here that religion has no role to play in astrology.

* It is important to understand that astrology is an indicative science and not a predictive or remedial one.

* It is advised to neither believe nor follow any remedy and get counselling instead from experts about the problems and discuss strengths and weaknesses of the relationship so that the couple can work upon them to make their marriage successful.