Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Kaur" in English language version.
Because she was childless she was, according to tradition, designated Mother of the Khalsa and renamed Sahib Kaur. The change will have taken place during the Singh Sabha period.
Reformers saw in this political and cultural signifier an important means for distinguishing Sikh women from their coreligionists, and a rather obscure cultural tradition was thus legitimized with religious significance. It is important to note that Sikh history was rewritten to give this name practice deep historical roots.
The Singh Sabha's interpretation of Sikh history, which forms Sikh understanding today, is that since 1699 women have (like the Sundri of Bhai Vir Singh's novel) received amrit on a par with men, and have as part of this initiation assumed the name 'Kaur'....It is possible that it only gradually came into its present widespread use as the second part of a Sikh woman's name.
The usage that applied to all Khalsa women was not introduced until the time of the Singh Sabha in the early 20th century. The first rahit-nama to include it was the Sikh Rehat Maryada.