Quote 1
He is afraid to be Nikhil, someone he doesn't know. Who doesn't know him […] It's a part of growing up, they tell him, of being a Bengali. (3.19)
In kindergarten, Gogol tries on a new, more formal name – and doesn't like it one bit, even though having a pet name and a formal name is Bengali custom. What's interesting here is that he thinks changing his name just might change his identity. He'll become a different person. But Gogol, it's just a name, right?
Quote 2
But Gogol sounds ludicrous to his ears, lacking dignity or gravity. What dismays him most is the irrelevance of it all. (4.10)
The irrelevance of what, Gogol? If your name is so irrelevant, why does it bother you so much? Or does it bother you because you want your name to pack a punch, to say, "Hello world, I'm here!"?
Quote 3
Not only does Gogol Ganguli have a pet name turned good name, but also a last name turned first name. And so it occurs to him that no one he knows in the world, in Russia or India or America or anywhere, shares his name. Not even the source of his namesake. (4.26)
Gogol's name doesn't tie him to any specific culture, which is a big problem for our boy. If you don't belong to a culture, how do you handle the world as a whole? Where's your frame of reference? Whom do you look to for an example?