Jyoti Basu's parents had faced a dilemma while finalizing his first name.
        
Two names 'Jyotirindra' and 'Ranthindra' were proposed and his parents, Nishikanta Basu and Hemlata Basu, settled for the first that signified a long and steady flame.
      
"Only when my father got me admitted to Loretto Kindergarten did he decide to shorten it. And, I became Jyoti Basu," his authorized biographer, Surabhi Banerjee wrote quoting Basu.
       
Basu was the third child of his parents, the eldest being Sourindran Kiran and sister Sudha.