Hindu girl names

Hindu girl names starting with A

Aditi – Means ‘boundless, entire’ or ‘freedom, security’ in Sanskrit. This is the name of an ancient Hindu goddess of the sky and fertility. According to the Vedas she is the mother of the gods

Ananta – Means ‘infinite, endless’ in Sanskrit. This is a transcription of both the masculine form / (an epithet of the Hindu god Vishnu) and the feminine form / (an epithet of the goddess Parvati)

Anila – Feminine form of ANIL

Anshula – Sunny

Aparna – Means ‘leafless, not having eaten leaves’ in Sanskrit. This is another name of the Hindu goddess Parvati

Aruna – Means ‘reddish brown’ in Sanskrit. The Hindu god Aruna () is the charioteer who drives the sun god Surya across the sky. The feminine form is transcribed the same way. The modern masculine form is Arun

Arundhati – The name of a star (also called Alcor), which was named after a type of climbing plant, possibly meaning ‘not restrained’ in Sanskrit. In Hindu belief it is the name of the sage Vasishtha’s wife, who is identified with the star

Arushi – From Sanskrit (arusha) meaning ‘reddish, dawn’, a word used in the Rigveda to describe the red horses of Agni. This name also appears in the Hindu epic the ‘Mahabharata’ belonging to a daughter of Manu and the wife of Chyavana, though in this case it might derive from Sanskrit (arushi) meaning ‘hitting, killing’

Hindu girl names starting with B

Bala – Means ‘young’ in Sanskrit. This is a transcription of both the masculine form and the feminine form (a minor Hindu goddess)

Balwinder – From Sanskrit (bala) meaning ‘strength, might’ combined with the name of the Hindu god INDRA

Bhumi – Means ‘earth, soil’ in Sanskrit. This is the name of a Hindu earth goddess. She is the wife of Varaha, an avatar of Vishnu

Hindu girl names starting with C

Chanda – Means ‘fierce, hot, passionate’ in Sanskrit. This is a transcription of both the masculine form and the feminine form (an epithet of the Hindu goddess Durga)

Chandra – Means ‘moon’ in Sanskrit, derived from (chand) meaning ‘to shine’. This is a transcription of the masculine form (a name of the moon in Hindu texts, which is often personified as a deity) as well as the feminine form

Hindu girl names starting with D

Damayanti – Means ‘subduing’ in Sanskrit. In the Hindu epic the ‘Mahabharata’ this is the name of a beautiful princess, the wife of Nala

Devi – Derived from Sanskrit (devi) meaning ‘goddess’. Devi is the Hindu mother goddess who manifests herself as all other goddesses

Dewi – Indonesian form of DEVI

Draupadi – Means ‘daughter of DRUPADA’ in Sanskrit. In the Hindu epic the ‘Mahabharata’ this is the name of the daughter of King Drupada. She married all of the Pandavas, the five sons of Pandu

Durga – Means ‘unattainable’ in Sanskrit. Durga is a Hindu warrior goddess, the fierce, twelve-armed, three-eyed form of the wife of Shiva. She is considered an incarnation of Parvati

Hindu girl names starting with F

Foolwati – Delicate as a flower

Hindu girl names starting with G

Gargi – Meaning unknown. This was the name of a 7th-century BC Indian philosopher who appears in the Upanishads, which are parts of Hindu scripture

Gauri – Means ‘white’ in Sanskrit. This is a Hindu goddess, another name of Parvati the wife of Shiva, so named because of her fair complexion

Gayathri – South Indian variant of GAYATRI

Gayatri – From Sanskrit (gayatra), which refers to a type of song or hymn with a particular meter. It is also the name of a Hindu goddess who is a personification of this song

Gowri – South Indian form of GAURI

Hindu girl names starting with H

Harinder – Variant of HARENDRA used by Sikhs

Hindu girl names starting with I

Inderjeet – Alternate transcription of Gurmukhi (see INDERJIT)

Inderjit – Variant of INDRAJIT used by Sikhs

Inderpal – Means ‘protector of Indra’ from the name of the god INDRA combined with Sanskrit (pala) meaning ‘protector’

Indira – Means ‘beauty’ in Sanskrit. This is another name of Lakshmi, the wife of the Hindu god Vishnu. A notable bearer was India’s first female prime minister, Indira Gandhi (1917-1984)

Indrani – Means ‘queen of INDRA’ in Sanskrit. This is a Hindu goddess of jealousy and beauty, a wife of Indra

Intira – Thai form of INDIRA

Isha – Means ‘master, lord’ in Sanskrit. This is a transcription of both the feminine form and the masculine form (an epithet of the Hindu god Shiva). It is also the name of one of the Upanishads, which are parts of Hindu scripture

Hindu girl names starting with J

Jasvinder – Alternate transcription of Gurmukhi (see JASWINDER)

Jaswinder – From Sanskrit (yashas) meaning ‘fame, praise, glory’ combined with the name of the Hindu god INDRA

Jaya – Derived from Sanskrit (jaya) meaning ‘victory’. This is a transcription of both the feminine form (an epithet of the Hindu goddess Durga) and the masculine form (borne by several characters in Hindu texts). As a modern personal name, this transcription is both feminine and masculine in southern India, but typically only feminine in the north

Jayanthi – Southern Indian form of JAYANTI

Jayanti – Feminine form of JAYANTA. This is another name of the Hindu goddess Durga

Hindu girl names starting with K

Kali – Means ‘the black one’ in Sanskrit. The Hindu goddess Kali is the fierce destructive form of the wife of Shiva. She is usually depicted with black skin and four arms, holding a severed head and brandishing a sword. As a personal name, it is generally masculine in India

Kalyani – Means ‘beautiful, lovely, auspicious’ in Sanskrit. In the Hindu epic the ‘Mahabharata’ this is the name of one of the Krittikas, or Pleiades. It is also another name of the Hindu goddess Parvati

Kamakshi – From Sanskrit (kama) meaning ‘love, desire’ and (akshi) meaning ‘eye’. This is the name of a Hindu fertility goddess. She is considered to be an incarnation of Parvati

Kamala – Means ‘lotus’ or ‘pale red’ in Sanskrit. This is a transcription of both the feminine form and the masculine form . This is the name of one of the Krittikas, or Pleiades, in Hindu epic the ‘Mahabharata’. It is also another name of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi

Kamatchi – Tamil form of KAMAKSHI

Kaminia – Handsome woman

Kanti – Means ‘beauty’ in Sanskrit. This is a transcription of both the feminine form (another name of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi) and the masculine form

Kausalya – Means ‘of the Kosala people’ in Sanskrit. Kosala was an ancient Indian kingdom that was at its most powerful in the 6th century BC. In Hindu legend Kausalya is the name of the mother of the hero Rama

Kumari – Feminine form of KUMARA. In the Hindu epic the ‘Mahabharata’ Kumari is the wife of the warrior Bhima. This is also another name of the Hindu goddess Durga

Kunti – Means ‘spear’ in Sanskrit. In the Hindu epic the ‘Mahabharata’ this is the name of the mother of the Pandavas

Hindu girl names starting with L

Lakshmi – Means ‘sign, mark’ in Sanskrit. This is the name of the Hindu goddess of prosperity, good luck, and beauty. She is the wife of Vishnu and her symbol is the lotus flower, with which she is often depicted

Lalita – Means ‘playful, charming, desirable’ in Sanskrit. In Hindu belief this is the name of one of the playmates of the young Krishna. It is also another name of the goddess Parvati

Lalitha – Southern Indian form of LALITA

Laxmi – Alternate transcription of Telugu or Marathi/Hindi (see LAKSHMI), as well as the most common Nepali transcription

Hindu girl names starting with M

Madhavi – Feminine form of MADHAVA. This is another name of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi

Mahinder – Variant of MAHENDRA used by Sikhs

Maninder – From Sanskrit (manas) meaning ‘mind, intellect, spirit’ combined with the name of the Hindu god INDRA

Maya – Means ‘illusion’ in Sanskrit. In Buddhist tradition this is the name of the mother of Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha). This is also another name of the Hindu goddess Durga

Meena – Alternate transcription of Hindi/Marathi or Tamil (see MINA (2))

Mina – Means ‘fish’ in Sanskrit. This is the name of the daughter of the Hindu goddess Ushas as well as the daughter of the god Kubera

Minakshi – From Sanskrit (mina) meaning ‘fish’ and (akshi) meaning ‘eye’. This is another name of the Hindu goddess Parvati

Mitra – Means ‘friend’ in Sanskrit, a cognate of MITHRA. This is a transcription of both the feminine form and the masculine form , which is the name of a Hindu god of friendship and contracts who appears in the Rigveda

Mohana – Means ‘bewitching, infatuating, charming’ in Sanskrit. This is a transcription of both the masculine form (an epithet of the Hindu gods Shiva, Krishna and Kama) and the feminine form

Mohinder – Variant of MAHENDRA used by Sikhs

Mohini – Means ‘infatuating’ in Sanskrit. This was the name adopted by the Hindu god Vishnu when he took the form of a woman

Hindu girl names starting with N

Narinder – Variant of NARENDRA used by Sikhs

Hindu girl names starting with P

Padma – Means ‘lotus’ in Sanskrit. This is a transcription of both the feminine form and the masculine form . According to Hindu tradition a lotus holding the god Brahma arose from the navel of the god Vishnu. The name Padma is used in Hindu texts to refer to several characters, including the goddess Lakshmi and the hero Rama

Padmavati – Means ‘resembling lotuses’, derived from the Sanskrit word (padma) meaning ‘lotus’ combined with (vati) meaning ‘resemblance’. This is the name of the foster-mother of the god Hindu Skanda

Parminder – From Sanskrit (parama) meaning ‘highest, best’ combined with the name of the Hindu god INDRA

Parvati – Means ‘of the mountains’ in Sanskrit. Parvati is a Hindu goddess of love and power, the wife of Shiva and the mother of Ganesha

Pema – Tibetan form of PADMA

Pritha – Means ‘the palm of the hand’ in Sanskrit. This is another name of the legendary Hindu figure Kunti

Priya – Means ‘beloved’ in Sanskrit. In Hindu legend this is the name of a daughter of King Daksha

Hindu girl names starting with R

Radha – Means ‘success’ in Sanskrit. This is the name of the favourite consort of the Hindu god Krishna

Radhika – Variant of RADHA

Rajani – Means ‘the dark one’ in Sanskrit. This is another name of the Hindu goddess Kali or Durga

Rajinder – Variant of RAJENDRA used by Sikhs

Rama – Means ‘wife’ in Sanskrit. This is another name of the goddess Lakshmi

Rati – Means ‘rest, pleasure’ in Sanskrit. This is the name of the wife of the Hindu god of love Kama

Ravinder – Variant of RAVINDRA used by Sikhs

Reva – Means ‘one that moves’ in Sanskrit. This is another name of the Hindu goddess Rati

Rukmini – Means ‘adorned with gold’ in Sanskrit. In Hindu belief this is the name of a princess who became the wife of Krishna

Rupinder – Means ‘greatest beauty’ from Sanskrit (rupa) meaning ‘beauty, form’ combined with the name of the Hindu god INDRA, used here to mean ‘greatest’

Hindu girl names starting with S

Sandhya – Means ‘twilight’ in Sanskrit. This is the name of the daughter of the Hindu god Brahma

Saraswati – Means ‘possessing water’ from Sanskrit (saras) meaning ‘fluid, water, lake’ and (vati) meaning ‘having’. This is the name of a Hindu river goddess, also associated with learning and the arts, who is the wife of Brahma

Sati – Means ‘truthful’ in Sanskrit. In Hindu belief this was the name of a goddess, a wife of Shiva. After her death she was reborn as the goddess Parvati

Savitri – Means ‘relating to the sun’ in Sanskrit. This is the name of a hymn dedicated to Savitr, a Hindu sun god, and it is also the name of his daughter. It is borne by several other characters in Hindu epics, including a wife of Brahma, a wife of Shiva, and a daughter of Daksha. In the Hindu epic the ‘Mahabharata’ it is borne by King Satyavan’s wife, who successfully pleas with Yama, the god of death, to restore her husband to life

Seeta – Alternate transcription of Hindi (see SITA)

Seetha – Tamil form of SITA. The name of the mythological figures is , while is the spelling used for people

Shailaja – Means ‘daughter of the mountain’ in Sanskrit, from (shaila) meaning ‘mountain’ and (ja) meaning ‘born’. This is another name of the Hindu goddess Parvati

Shakti – Means ‘power’ in Sanskrit. In Hinduism a shakti is the female counterpart of a god. The name Shakti is used in particular to refer to the female counterpart of Shiva, also known as Parvati among many other names

Shakuntala – Derived from Sanskrit (shakunta) meaning ‘bird’. This is the name of a character in Hindu legend, her story adapted by Kalidasa for the 5th-century play ‘Abhijnanashakuntalam’. It tells how Shakuntala, who was raised in the forest by birds, meets and marries the king Dushyanta. After a curse is laid upon them Dushyanta loses his memory and they are separated, but eventually the curse is broken after the king sees the signet ring he gave her

Shanta – Means ‘pacified, calm’ in Sanskrit. In the Hindu epic the ‘Ramayana’ this is the name of a daughter of King Dasharatha

Shinta – Javanese form of SITA

Shivali – Means ‘beloved of SHIVA (1)’ in Sanskrit. This is another name of the Hindu goddess Parvati

Shri – Means ‘diffusing light, radiance, beauty’ in Sanskrit. This is another name of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi. This word is also commonly used as a title of respect in India

Shridevi – From the name of the Hindu goddess SHRI combined with Sanskrit (devi) meaning ‘goddess’. This is another name of Lakshmi

Shyama – Derived from Sanskrit (shyama) meaning ‘dark, black, blue’. This is a transcription of the masculine form , which is another name of the Hindu god Krishna, as well as the feminine form , one of the many names of the wife of the god Shiva. It is also the name of a Jain goddess

Sinta – Javanese form of SITA

Sita – Means ‘furrow’ in Sanskrit. Sita is the name of the Hindu goddess of the harvest in the Rigveda. This is also the name of the wife of Rama (and an avatar of Lakshmi) in the Hindu epic the ‘Ramayana’. In this story Sita is rescued by her husband from the demon king Ravana

Siti – Malay form of SITA

Sree – Alternate transcription of Telugu or Tamil (see SRI)

Sri – Indonesian and southern Indian form of SHRI

Sridevi – Variant of SHRIDEVI

Srinivas – Southern Indian form of SHRINIVAS

Sudeepta – Bright

Sumati – Means ‘wise, good mind’, derived from Sanskrit (su) meaning ‘good’ and (mati) meaning ‘mind, thought’. In the Hindu epic the ‘Mahabharata’ this is the name of King Sagara’s second wife, who bore him 60,000 children

Sunita – Means ‘well conducted, wise’, derived from the Sanskrit prefix (su) meaning ‘good’ combined with (nita) meaning ‘conducted, led’. In Hindu legend this is the name of the daughter of King Anga of Bengal

Sunitha – Southern Indian form of SUNITA

Surinder – Variant of SURENDRA used by Sikhs

Susheela – Alternate transcription of Hindi (see SUSHILA)

Sushila – Means ‘good-tempered, well-disposed’, derived from the Sanskrit prefix (su) meaning ‘good’ combined with (shila) meaning ‘conduct, disposition’. This is a transcription of both the feminine form and the masculine form . This name is borne by wives of the Hindu gods Krishna and Yama

Hindu girl names starting with T

Tara – Means ‘star’ in Sanskrit. Tara is the name of a Hindu astral goddess, the wife of Brhaspati. She was abducted by Soma, a god of the moon, leading to a great war that was only ended when Brahma intervened and released her. This is also the name of a Buddhist deity (a female Buddha)

Tarani – A boat

Hindu girl names starting with U

Uma – Means ‘flax’ in Sanskrit. This is another name of the Hindu goddess Parvati. In Hindu texts it is said to derive from the Sanskrit exclamation (u ma) meaning ‘O (child), do not (practice austerities)!’, which was addressed to Parvati by her mother

Usha – Variant of USHAS

Ushas – Means ‘dawn’ in Sanskrit. This is the name of the Hindu goddess of the dawn, considered the daughter of heaven

Utari – Javanese form of UTTARA

Uttara – Means ‘north’ in Sanskrit. This is a transcription of both the masculine form (also written Uttar) and the feminine form (also written Uttara), both of which occur in the Hindu epic the ‘Mahabharata’ belonging to the son and daughter of King Virata

Hindu girl names starting with V

Vaishnavi – Derived from the name of the Hindu god VISHNU, meaning ‘belonging to Vishnu’. This is the name of one of the seven Matrika goddesses in Hinduism

Valli – Means ‘creeping plant’ in Dravidian. In Dravidian mythology the goddess Valli was the wife of Murunga

Vasanti – Feminine form of VASANTA

Vidya – Means ‘knowledge, science, learning’ in Sanskrit. This is another name of the Hindu goddess Saraswati

Vijaya – Means ‘victory’ in Sanskrit. This is a transcription of both the masculine form and the feminine form , both of which are used frequently in Hindu texts. It is the name of a grandson of Indra, a son of Krishna and it is another name of the goddess Durga. This was also the name of a semi-legendary 6th-century BC king of Sri Lanka

Hindu girl names starting with W

Widya – Indonesian form of VIDYA

Hindu girl names starting with Y

Yami – Means ‘twin, pair’ in Sanskrit. In Hindu belief this is the name of the first woman, the twin sister of the first man Yama

Yamuna – From the name of an Indian river, which is possibly derived from the name of the goddess YAMI