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Names starting with M (म): 24 names from the scriptures

13 for boys and 11 for girls. With each name: its meaning, its number in the text, and the nakshatra pada and rashi of its first syllable.

In short

Here are 24 names starting with M (म): 13 for boys and 11 for girls. Each comes from the Lalita Sahasranama, Vishnu Sahasranama, Shiva Sahasranama (Mahabharata), Durga Ashtottara Shatanama and was checked in two separate editions; with each name are its meaning, its number in the text, and the nakshatra pada and rashi of its first syllable by the Avakahada chakra (Leo (Simha)).

Edited by the SanatanBodh editorial teamLast updated: 10 sourcesDrafted with AI, checked against sourcesReport a mistake

Boys’ names starting with M (म) (13)

  • मधुसूदन

    MadhusudanBoy

    Slayer of the demon Madhu

    Source
    Vishnu Sahasranama, name 73
    Deity
    Vishnu
    Meaning based on
    Shankara’s commentary
    First syllable
    मा → Magha pada 1 → Leo (Simha)

  • मनु

    ManuBoy

    The thinker (there is no thinker but him); or the mantra, or Manu the progenitor

    Source
    Vishnu Sahasranama, name 51
    Deity
    Vishnu
    Meaning based on
    Shankara’s commentary
    First syllable
    मा → Magha pada 1 → Leo (Simha)

  • मनोजव

    ManojavBoy

    Swift as the mind, being everywhere

    Source
    Vishnu Sahasranama, name 690
    Deity
    Vishnu
    Meaning based on
    Shankara’s commentary
    First syllable
    मा → Magha pada 1 → Leo (Simha)

  • मनोहर

    ManoharBoy

    Charming the mind, being boundless bliss

    Source
    Vishnu Sahasranama, name 461
    Deity
    Vishnu
    Meaning based on
    Shankara’s commentary
    First syllable
    मा → Magha pada 1 → Leo (Simha)

  • महादेव

    MahadevBoy

    The great god

    Source
    Shiva Sahasranama (Mahabharata), name 603 (Gita Press); Pune edition, Anushasana Parva 17.99
    Deity
    Shiva
    Meaning based on
    Sanskrit dictionary: Monier-Williams p. 796
    First syllable
    मा → Magha pada 1 → Leo (Simha)

  • महाबल

    MahabalBoy

    Stronger than the strongest

    Source
    Vishnu Sahasranama, name 172
    Deity
    Vishnu
    Meaning based on
    Shankara’s commentary
    First syllable
    मा → Magha pada 1 → Leo (Simha)

  • महीधर

    MahidharBoy

    Bearer of the earth (mahi)

    Source
    Vishnu Sahasranama, name 317
    Deity
    Vishnu
    Meaning based on
    Shankara’s commentary
    First syllable
    मा → Magha pada 1 → Leo (Simha)

  • महेंद्र

    महेन्द्रMahendraBoy

    The great Indra: lord of lords

    Source
    Vishnu Sahasranama, name 268
    Deity
    Vishnu
    Meaning based on
    Shankara’s commentary
    First syllable
    मा → Magha pada 1 → Leo (Simha)

  • महेश्वर

    MaheshwarBoy

    The great lord, lord of all

    Source
    Shiva Sahasranama (Mahabharata), name 164 (Gita Press); Pune edition, Anushasana Parva 17.48
    Deity
    Shiva
    Meaning based on
    Sanskrit dictionary: Monier-Williams p. 802
    First syllable
    मा → Magha pada 1 → Leo (Simha)

  • माधव

    MadhavBoy

    Husband (dhava) of Ma, Lakshmi; or known through silence, meditation and yoga

    Source
    Vishnu Sahasranama, name 72
    Deity
    Vishnu
    Meaning based on
    Shankara’s commentary
    First syllable
    मा → Magha pada 1 → Leo (Simha)

  • मित्र

    MitraBoy

    The friend; one of the twelve Adityas (Gita Press gloss)

    Source
    Shiva Sahasranama (Mahabharata), name 622 (Gita Press); Pune edition, Anushasana Parva 17.101
    Deity
    Shiva
    Meaning based on
    Sanskrit dictionary: Monier-Williams p. 816
    First syllable
    मी → Magha pada 2 → Leo (Simha)

  • मुकुंद

    मुकुन्दMukundBoy

    Giver of liberation (mukti)

    Source
    Vishnu Sahasranama, name 515
    Deity
    Vishnu
    Meaning based on
    Shankara’s commentary
    First syllable
    मू → Magha pada 3 → Leo (Simha)

  • मेधावी

    MedhaviBoy

    Of a mind that grasps many subjects at once

    Source
    Vishnu Sahasranama, name 77
    Deity
    Vishnu
    Meaning based on
    Shankara’s commentary
    First syllable
    मे → Magha pada 4 → Leo (Simha)

Girls’ names starting with M (म) (11)

  • मधुमती

    MadhumatiGirl

    Honey-sweet in nature; or Madhumati, the highest stage of yoga

    Source
    Lalita Sahasranama, name 717
    Deity
    Lalita (the Devi)
    Meaning based on
    Bhaskararaya’s commentary
    First syllable
    मा → Magha pada 1 → Leo (Simha)

  • मनस्विनी

    ManaswiniGirl

    She on whom the mind depends

    Source
    Lalita Sahasranama, name 930
    Deity
    Lalita (the Devi)
    Meaning based on
    Bhaskararaya’s commentary
    First syllable
    मा → Magha pada 1 → Leo (Simha)

  • महालक्ष्मी

    MahalakshmiGirl

    The goddess of Karavira (Kolhapur); or the great Lakshmi

    Source
    Lalita Sahasranama, name 210
    Deity
    Lalita (the Devi)
    Meaning based on
    Bhaskararaya’s commentary
    First syllable
    मा → Magha pada 1 → Leo (Simha)

  • मही

    MahiGirl

    The earth; Prakriti, great because it pervades all

    Source
    Lalita Sahasranama, name 718
    Deity
    Lalita (the Devi)
    Meaning based on
    Bhaskararaya’s commentary
    First syllable
    मा → Magha pada 1 → Leo (Simha)

  • माया

    MayaGirl

    The power that veils the evident; the means of marvellous works

    Source
    Lalita Sahasranama, name 716
    Deity
    Lalita (the Devi)
    Meaning based on
    Bhaskararaya’s commentary
    First syllable
    मा → Magha pada 1 → Leo (Simha)

  • मालिनी

    MaliniGirl

    Wearing garlands; the goddess of the fifty-one letters

    Source
    Lalita Sahasranama, name 455
    Deity
    Lalita (the Devi)
    Meaning based on
    Bhaskararaya’s commentary
    First syllable
    मा → Magha pada 1 → Leo (Simha)

  • माहेश्वरी

    MaheshwariGirl

    The power of Maheshvara (Shiva), one of the seven Matrikas

    Source
    Durga Ashtottara Shatanama, name 52 (Gita Press)
    Deity
    Durga
    Meaning based on
    Sanskrit dictionary: Monier-Williams p. 815
    First syllable
    मा → Magha pada 1 → Leo (Simha)

  • मुग्धा

    MugdhaGirl

    Beautiful, charming

    Source
    Lalita Sahasranama, name 868
    Deity
    Lalita (the Devi)
    Meaning based on
    Bhaskararaya’s commentary
    First syllable
    मू → Magha pada 3 → Leo (Simha)

  • मृडानी

    MridaniGirl

    Consort of Mrida, Shiva the giver of happiness

    Source
    Lalita Sahasranama, name 564
    Deity
    Lalita (the Devi)
    Meaning based on
    Bhaskararaya’s commentary
    First syllable
    मृ is a conjunct: its first letter, म: मा → Magha pada 1 → Leo (Simha)

  • मेधा

    MedhaGirl

    Intelligence; she who dwells in all beings as intelligence

    Source
    Lalita Sahasranama, name 538
    Deity
    Lalita (the Devi)
    Meaning based on
    Bhaskararaya’s commentary
    First syllable
    मे → Magha pada 4 → Leo (Simha)

  • मोहिनी

    MohiniGirl

    The enchantress, by whom the whole world is enchanted

    Source
    Lalita Sahasranama, name 562
    Deity
    Lalita (the Devi)
    Meaning based on
    Bhaskararaya’s commentary
    First syllable
    मो → Purva Phalguni pada 1 → Leo (Simha)

Names with M (म): questions and answers

What is the rashi of a name starting with M (म)?

In the Avakahada chakra the rashi of the nakshatra pada a name’s first syllable belongs to is the name rashi. The first syllables of the names on this page: मा (Magha pada 1, Leo (Simha)): मधुमती, मधुसूदन, मनस्विनी, मनु and others. मी (Magha pada 2, Leo (Simha)): मित्र. मू (Magha pada 3, Leo (Simha)): मुकुंद, मुग्धा. मे (Magha pada 4, Leo (Simha)): मेधा, मेधावी. मो (Purva Phalguni pada 1, Leo (Simha)): मोहिनी. This is the name rashi; the birth rashi is the Moon’s rashi at birth, found from the birth panchang.

What does the number next to the source mean?

It is the name’s place in the text: 1 to 1000 in the Vishnu and Lalita Sahasranamas, 1 to 1008 in the Mahabharata’s Shiva Sahasranama as the Gita Press counts it, and 1 to 108 in the Durga Ashtottara Shatanama. Where a name comes more than once, the first number is given.

Must the name begin with the syllable of the birth nakshatra?

Many families keep the custom of giving a name that begins with the syllable of the Moon’s nakshatra pada at birth. That is a matter of family custom. This page gives the pada of each name’s first syllable so the match can be made; the birth pada comes from the birth panchang. Ask your family purohit about the naming rite itself.

Sources

  1. Lalita Sahasranama: Lalita Sahasranamavali, sanskritdocuments.org
  2. Lalita Sahasranama: Lalita Sahasranama with Bhaskararaya’s Commentary, tr. R. Ananthakrishna Sastry (2nd ed., 1925)
  3. Vishnu Sahasranama: Mahabharata, vol. 6 (Anushasana Parva), Gita Press: numbered, with a Hindi gloss
  4. Vishnu Sahasranama: Vishnu Sahasranamavali, sanskritdocuments.org
  5. Vishnu Sahasranama: The Vishnu Sahasranama with the Bhashya of Sri Sankaracharya, tr. R. Ananthakrishna Sastry (Theosophical Publishing House, 1927)
  6. Shiva Sahasranama (Mahabharata): Mahabharata, vol. 6 (Anushasana Parva), Gita Press: numbered, with a Hindi gloss
  7. Shiva Sahasranama (Mahabharata): Mahabharata, Pune critical edition (BORI), Anushasana Parva, sanskritdocuments.org
  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. 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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