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Names from the scriptures for a newborn

282 names, each with its text and number: 178 for boys and 104 for girls. Pick a first letter, or search below.

In short

Here are 282 names, 178 for boys and 104 for girls, taken from four sacred name-lists: the Vishnu Sahasranama (Mahabharata), the Mahabharata’s Shiva Sahasranama, the Lalita Sahasranama (Brahmanda Purana) and the Durga Ashtottara Shatanama. Each name was read in two separate editions of its text, its number there is given, and its meaning is written in our own words on the basis of a traditional commentary or a Sanskrit dictionary.

Edited by the SanatanBodh editorial teamLast updated: 12 sourcesDrafted with AI, checked against sourcesReport a mistake

Names by first letter

Four texts, how many names

  • Vishnu · 148 names

    Vishnu Sahasranama

    Mahabharata, Anushasana Parva, chapter 149 (Gita Press)

    Meanings after: Shankara’s commentary (tr. R. Ananthakrishna Sastry, 1927)

  • Shiva · 30 names

    Shiva Sahasranama (Mahabharata)

    Mahabharata, Anushasana Parva, chapter 17: the hymn of the sage Tandi

    Meanings after: The Sanskrit dictionaries of Monier-Williams (1899) and Apte (1890), read with the Gita Press gloss

  • Lalita (the Devi) · 83 names

    Lalita Sahasranama

    Brahmanda Purana (Hayagriva to Agastya)

    Meanings after: Bhaskararaya’s Saubhagya Bhaskara (tr. R. Ananthakrishna Sastry, 1925)

  • Durga · 21 names

    Durga Ashtottara Shatanama

    Vishvasara Tantra; printed in the Gita Press Durga Saptashati

    Meanings after: The Sanskrit dictionaries of Monier-Williams (1899) and Apte (1890), read with the Gita Press gloss

How the names were chosen

  • Only names still given as names today were taken. Long compounds, purely descriptive epithets (such as “Sahasraksha”, thousand-eyed) and names whose sense is odd for a child were left out.
  • Each name was read in two separate editions of its text (listed below). Where the two read differently, as with “Madana” in the Gita Press Shiva Sahasranama against “Madanakara” in the Pune edition, the name was left out.
  • The number is the name’s place in the text. In the Vishnu and Lalita Sahasranamas it follows the sanskritdocuments.org namavali and the Gita Press; the English translations count one to three apart in places.
  • Each name is written first as people write it (अनंत), then in the text’s spelling (अनन्त), then in Roman letters (Anant).
  • The nakshatra pada of the first syllable comes from the same Avakahada table as the “rashi by name” page. A conjunct (Shri, Ksh, Tr) takes its first letter; when keeping the vowel gives another pada, that reading is given too.

Find the rashi of any name · The 27 nakshatras and their name letters

Letters with only a few names

Only 5 names were chosen with these letters, so they are given here.

Names with Oo (ऊ)

  • ऊर्जित

    UrjitBoy

    Of immense strength

    Source
    Vishnu Sahasranama, name 156
    Deity
    Vishnu
    Meaning based on
    Shankara’s commentary
    First syllable
    उ → Krittika pada 3 → Taurus (Vrishabha)

Names with Ai (ऐ)

  • ऐंद्री

    ऐन्द्रीAindriGirl

    The power of Indra

    Source
    Durga Ashtottara Shatanama, name 53 (Gita Press)
    Deity
    Durga
    Meaning based on
    Sanskrit dictionary: Monier-Williams p. 234
    First syllable
    ए → Krittika pada 4 → Taurus (Vrishabha)

Names with B (ब)

  • ब्राह्मी

    BrahmiGirl

    The power of Brahma; Sarasvati, goddess of speech

    Source
    Durga Ashtottara Shatanama, name 51 (Gita Press)
    Deity
    Durga
    Meaning based on
    Sanskrit dictionary: Monier-Williams p. 742; Apte p. 804
    First syllable
    ब्रा is a conjunct: its first letter, ब; the Avakahada chakra counts ब as व: वा → Rohini pada 2 → Taurus (Vrishabha)

Names with L (ल)

  • लक्ष्मी

    LakshmiGirl

    Good fortune, prosperity and success

    Source
    Durga Ashtottara Shatanama, name 58 (Gita Press)
    Deity
    Durga
    Meaning based on
    Sanskrit dictionary: Monier-Williams p. 892; Apte p. 920
    First syllable
    ला → Ashwini pada 4 → Aries (Mesha)

  • लोकनाथ

    LoknathBoy

    Lord of the worlds, to whom the worlds pray

    Source
    Vishnu Sahasranama, name 734
    Deity
    Vishnu
    Meaning based on
    Shankara’s commentary
    First syllable
    लो → Bharani pada 4 → Aries (Mesha)

Texts, editions and dictionaries

Vishnu Sahasranama
Shiva Sahasranama (Mahabharata)
Lalita Sahasranama
Durga Ashtottara Shatanama
Dictionaries

Names: questions and answers

Where do these names come from?

From four name-hymns: 148 from the Vishnu Sahasranama (Mahabharata, Anushasana Parva 149), 30 from the Mahabharata’s Shiva Sahasranama (Anushasana Parva 17), 83 from the Lalita Sahasranama (Brahmanda Purana) and 21 from the Durga Ashtottara Shatanama (Vishvasara Tantra, printed in the Gita Press Durga Saptashati). Each name was checked in two separate editions of its hymn; a name that did not read the same in both was left out.

What are the meanings based on?

The Vishnu Sahasranama meanings rest on Adi Shankara’s commentary, the Lalita Sahasranama meanings on Bhaskararaya’s Saubhagya Bhaskara, and the Shiva and Durga meanings on the Sanskrit dictionaries of Monier-Williams and Apte (with page numbers), read with the Gita Press Hindi gloss. The meanings are short and in our own words; where a commentary gives several, the main one or two are given.

Why are the nakshatra and rashi of the first syllable given?

By tradition the rashi of the nakshatra pada that a name’s first syllable belongs to in the Avakahada chakra is the name rashi, and many families give a name beginning with the syllable of the birth nakshatra pada. So each name carries its pada and rashi. This is a table of syllables, not a prediction. The birth pada follows from the date, time and place of birth; see the birth panchang for it.

Anant: अनंत or अनन्त, which spelling is right?

Both. Sanskrit texts write the nasal of the letter’s class (अनन्त, गोविन्द), and Hindi often writes the anusvara (अनंत, गोविंद). Each name is given first as people write it, with the text’s spelling beside it when that differs. The first syllable and its rashi are the same either way.

Are these names lucky?

This page does not call any name lucky or unlucky. With each name it gives only its text, number, meaning and the pada of its syllable. Ask your family’s tradition and purohit about the day and rite of the naming ceremony.

Sources

  1. Vishnu Sahasranama: Mahabharata, vol. 6 (Anushasana Parva), Gita Press: numbered, with a Hindi gloss
  2. Vishnu Sahasranama: Vishnu Sahasranamavali, sanskritdocuments.org
  3. Vishnu Sahasranama: The Vishnu Sahasranama with the Bhashya of Sri Sankaracharya, tr. R. Ananthakrishna Sastry (Theosophical Publishing House, 1927)
  4. Shiva Sahasranama (Mahabharata): Mahabharata, vol. 6 (Anushasana Parva), Gita Press: numbered, with a Hindi gloss
  5. Shiva Sahasranama (Mahabharata): Mahabharata, Pune critical edition (BORI), Anushasana Parva, sanskritdocuments.org
  6. Lalita Sahasranama: Lalita Sahasranamavali, sanskritdocuments.org
  7. Lalita Sahasranama: Lalita Sahasranama with Bhaskararaya’s Commentary, tr. R. Ananthakrishna Sastry (2nd ed., 1925)
  8. Durga Ashtottara Shatanama: Sachitra Shri Durga Saptashati, tr. Ramnarayan Dutt Shastri ‘Ram’ (Gita Press, 1961): numbered, with a Hindi gloss
  9. Durga Ashtottara Shatanama: Shri Durga Ashtottarashatanama Stotram and Namavali, sanskritdocuments.org
  10. Monier-Williams, A Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899): Cologne digital edition (csl-orig)
  11. V. S. Apte, The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1890): Cologne digital edition (csl-orig)
  12. Name syllables: Brihad Avakahada Chakram, Shatapada Chakra verses 9–15; Pt. Sitarama Sharma, Ati Brihat Avakahada Chakram (1932), pp. 22–26

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