The ending "Amma" for men

[Mani Varadarajan]

> ( examples I know mainly consist of the ending "kr*SNamA" as
> in the names kr*SNamA-cAri,( there is also the name kr*SNACAri, which
> makes me think that the name "kr*SNamAcAri is from kr*SNamA and not
> kr*SNa),

The name kRshNamAcAri comes from the words kRshNam + AcArya,
not kRshNamA. There is no female element here.  In Tamil,
male names ending in 'n' are often changed to end in 'm' --
hence rAmAnujan is also said and seen as rAmAnujam.  kRshNan
becomes kRshNam and with the "AcArya" honorific, the name
becomes kRshNamAcArya/kRshNamAcAri.

Srini Pichmani mentioned the 13th century Sri Vaishnava scholar
naDAdUr ammAL, also known as vAtsya varadAcArya.  varadAcArya
acquired the name "ammAL" because of his unusual, motherly
affection for God. This is a case where a feminine name was
given to highlight a particular quality.

Mani