Tamil Origin Names

Aarthi f Tamil
Tamil form of Aarti.

Abhishek m Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil
From Sanskrit अभिषेक (abhiṣeka) meaning "anointing".

Aishwarya f Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil
From Sanskrit ऐश्वर्य (aiśvarya) meaning "prosperity, wealth". A famous bearer is the Indian actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (1973-).

Ajay m Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil
Means "unconquered", from Sanskrit अ (a) meaning "not" and जय (jaya) meaning "victory, conquest".

Amala f Tamil, Malayalam
Derived from Sanskrit अमल (amala) meaning "clean, pure".

Amit 1 m Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Assamese, Odia, Punjabi, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Nepali
From Sanskrit अमित (amita) meaning "immeasurable, infinite".

Anbu m Tamil
Means "love" in Tamil.

Anita 2 f Hindi, Marathi, Nepali, Tamil
Feminine form of Anit.

Anjali f Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Nepali
From Sanskrit अञ्जलि (añjali) meaning "salutation".

Anuradha f Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Sinhalese
From the name of a constellation in Hindu astrology, meaning "causing success", from Sanskrit अनु (anu) meaning "after" and राधा (rādhā) meaning "success, prosperity".

Aravind m Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil
From Sanskrit अरविन्द (aravinda) meaning "lotus".

Archana f Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil
From Sanskrit अर्चन (arcana) meaning "honouring, praising". This is the name of a Hindu ritual.

Ashish m Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Nepali
From Sanskrit आशिष (āśiṣa) meaning "prayer, blessing".

Ashwin m Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada
From Sanskrit अश्विन् (aśvin) meaning "possessed of horses". The Ashvins are twin Hindu gods of the sunrise and sunset.

Bala 1 m & f Tamil, Telugu, Hindi
Variant and feminine form of Bal.

Chandrasekhar m Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Odia
Alternate transcription of Telugu చంద్రశేఖర్, Tamil சந்திரசேகர், Kannada ಚಂದ್ರಶೇಖಾರ್ or Odia ଚନ୍ଦ୍ରଶେଖର (see Chandrashekhar).

Chandrashekhar m Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Odia
Means "crown of the moon", derived from Sanskrit चन्द्र (candra) meaning "moon" and शेखर (śekhara) meaning "crest, peak, crown". This is an epithet of the Hindu god Shiva.

Deepa f Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil
Alternate transcription of Hindi/Marathi दीपा, Gurmukhi ਦੀਪਾ, Bengali দীপা, Malayalam ദീപ or Tamil தீபா (see Dipa).

Deepika f Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu
Alternate transcription of Hindi/Marathi दीपिका, Kannada ದೀಪಿಕಾ, Malayalam ദീപിക, Tamil தீபிகா or Telugu దీపికా (see Dipika).

Dipa f Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil
From Sanskrit दीप (dīpa) meaning "light, lamp".

Dipika f Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu
Feminine form of Dipaka.

Divya f Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam
Means "divine, heavenly" in Sanskrit.

Durai m Tamil
Means "chief, leader" in Tamil.

Ezhil m & f Tamil
Means "beauty" in Tamil.

Geetha f Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu
South Indian form of Gita 1.

Harish m Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam
From the name Hari (an epithet of Vishnu) combined with Sanskrit ईश (īśa) meaning "lord".

Hema f Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada
Means "golden" in Sanskrit.

Indumathi f Tamil
From Sanskrit इन्दुमत् (indumat) meaning "full moon".

Jothi f & m Tamil
Tamil form of Jyoti.

Kala 1 f Tamil
Means "art form, virtue" in Sanskrit.

Kalpana f Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Nepali
Means "imagining, fantasy" in Sanskrit.

Kanchana f Tamil, Thai
From Sanskrit कञ्चन (kañcana) meaning "golden".

Karthik m Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam
Southern Indian form of Kartik.

Karthika f Tamil, Malayalam
Southern Indian feminine form of Kartik.

Kasi f Telugu, Tamil
Southern Indian form of Kashi.

Kavitha f Telugu, Tamil, Kannada
South Indian form of Kavita.

Kiran f & m Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, Gujarati, Nepali, Urdu
Derived from Sanskrit किरण (kiraṇa), which can mean "dust" or "thread" or "sunbeam".

Kishor m Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Nepali
Derived from Sanskrit किशोर (kiśora) meaning "colt".

Kishore m Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu
Alternate transcription of Hindi/Marathi किशोर, Tamil கிஷோர் or Telugu కిశోర్ (see Kishor).

Lavanya f Hindi, Telugu, Tamil
From Sanskrit लावण्य (lāvaṇya) meaning "beauty, loveliness, charm".

Leela f Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam
Alternate transcription of Lila 1.

Madhu f & m Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu
From Sanskrit मधु (madhu) meaning "honey, sweet". This is another name of Chaitra, the first month of the Hindu year (which occurs in March and April).

Manish m Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Malayalam, Punjabi, Tamil, Nepali
From Sanskrit मनीषा (manīṣā) meaning "thought, wisdom".

Meena f Hindi, Marathi, Tamil
Alternate transcription of Hindi/Marathi मीना or Tamil மீனா (see Mina 2).

Meera f Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada
Alternate transcription of Hindi/Marathi मीरा, Malayalam മീര, Tamil மீரா or Kannada ಮೀರಾ (see Mira 1).

Mina 2 f Hindi, Marathi, Tamil
From Sanskrit मीन (mīna) meaning "fish", which in Hindu astrology is the name of a sign of the zodiac.

Mira 1 f Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada
From Sanskrit मीर (mīra) meaning "sea, ocean". This was the name of a 16th-century Indian princess who devoted her life to the god Krishna.

Nalini f Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi
From Sanskrit नलिनी (nalinī) meaning "lotus".

Naveen m Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam
Alternate transcription of Hindi/Marathi नवीन, Kannada ನವೀನ್, Telugu నవీన్, Tamil நவீன் or Malayalam നവീൻ (see Navin).

Navin m Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam
From Sanskrit नव (nava) meaning "new, fresh".

Neela f Tamil, Hindi
Alternate transcription of Tamil நீலா or Hindi नीला (see Nila).

Nikhil m Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Odia, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil
From Sanskrit निखिल (nikhila) meaning "whole, entire".

Nikitha f Telugu, Tamil
Southern Indian variant of Nikita 2.

Nila f Tamil, Hindi, Indonesian, Burmese
From Sanskrit नील (nīla) meaning "dark blue".

Nirmal m Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Nepali
From Sanskrit निर्मल (nirmala) meaning "clean, pure".

Nirmala f Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Nepali, Indonesian
Feminine form of Nirmal.

Nisha f Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Bengali, Nepali
From Sanskrit निशा (niśā) meaning "night".

Nithin m Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada
Southern Indian variant of Nitin.

Nithya f Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam
Southern Indian form of Nitya.

Padmini f Kannada, Tamil, Telugu
Means "multitude of lotuses", a derivative of Sanskrit पद्म (padma) meaning "lotus".

Pallavi f Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil
Feminine form of Pallav.

Pooja f Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Punjabi, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Nepali
Alternate transcription of Hindi/Marathi/Nepali पूजा, Gujarati પૂજા, Bengali পূজা, Gurmukhi ਪੂਜਾ, Telugu పూజా, Malayalam പൂജ, Tamil பூஜா or Kannada ಪೂಜಾ (see Puja).

Poornima f Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, Marathi
Alternate transcription of Tamil பூர்ணிமா, Kannada ಪೂರ್ಣಿಮಾ or Hindi/Marathi पूर्णिमा (see Purnima).

Pradeep m Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Nepali
Alternate transcription of Hindi/Marathi प्रदीप, Bengali প্রদিপ, Malayalam പ്രദീപ്, Kannada ಪ್ರದೀಪ್, Telugu ప్రదీప్, Tamil பிரதீப் or Nepali प्रदिप (see Pradip).

Pradip m Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Nepali
Derived from Sanskrit प्रदीप (pradīpa) meaning "light, lantern".

Prakash m Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Gujarati, Bengali, Odia, Nepali
Derived from Sanskrit प्रकाश (prakāśa) meaning "light, bright, shining".

Prasad m Telugu, Marathi, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Odia, Bengali, Nepali
From Sanskrit प्रसाद (prasāda) meaning "brightness, clearness, graciousness, offering". This is a word referring to an offering of food made to a deity.

Prasanna m Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Odia, Hindi
Means "clear, bright, tranquil" in Sanskrit.

Prashanth m Tamil
Tamil form of Prashant.

Praveen m Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam
Alternate transcription of Hindi/Marathi प्रवीण, Gujarati પ્રવીણ, Kannada ಪ್ರವೀಣ್, Telugu ప్రవీణ్, Tamil பிரவீண் or Malayalam പ്രവീൺ (see Pravin).

Praveena f Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi
Alternate transcription of Pravina.

Pravin m Marathi, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam
From Sanskrit प्रवीण (pravīṇa) meaning "skilled".

Pravina f Marathi, Tamil
Feminine form of Pravin.

Preethi f Kannada, Tamil
South Indian form of Priti.

Prem m Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Nepali
From Sanskrit प्रेम (prema) meaning "love, affection".

Prema f Tamil, Kannada, Marathi, Nepali, Hindi
Feminine form of Prem.

Priyanka f Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali
From Sanskrit प्रियंकर (priyaṃkara) meaning "agreeable, amiable".

Puja f Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Punjabi, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Nepali
From Sanskrit पूजा (pūjā) meaning "honour, worship". This is the name of a Hindu ritual of reverence.

Purnima f Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Kannada
From Sanskrit पूर्णिमा (pūrṇimā) meaning "full moon".

Pushpa f & m Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Nepali
From Sanskrit पुष्प (puṣpa) meaning "flower". This is a transcription of both the feminine form पुष्पा and the masculine form पुष्प. Especially in Nepal it is frequently masculine.

Raj m Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Nepali
Means "empire, royalty", from Sanskrit राज्य (rājya).

Raja 2 m Urdu, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi, Marathi, Indonesian
Means "king, ruler", from Sanskrit राजन् (rājan).

Rajeev m Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Tamil, Nepali
Alternate transcription of Hindi/Marathi/Nepali राजीव, Malayalam രാജീവ് or Tamil ராஜிவ் (see Rajiv).

Rajesh m Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Nepali
Means "ruler of kings" from Sanskrit राज (rāja) meaning "king" and ईश (īśa) meaning "lord, ruler".

Rajiv m Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Tamil, Nepali
From Sanskrit राजीव (rājīva) meaning "striped". This is used to refer to the blue lotus in Hindu texts.

Raju m Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Nepali
Variant of Raja 2.

Rakesh m Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu
Means "lord of the full moon" from Sanskrit राका (rākā) meaning "full moon" and ईश (īśa) meaning "lord, ruler".

Rashmi f & m Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil
From Sanskrit रश्मि (raśmi) meaning "ray of sunlight, rope, cord".

Rathna f & m Tamil
Southern Indian variant of Ratna.

Sampath m Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Sinhalese
From Sanskrit सम्पत्ति (sampatti) meaning "success, wealth".

Sandeep m Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Nepali
Alternate transcription of Hindi/Marathi संदीप, Bengali সন্দীপ, Gurmukhi ਸੰਦੀਪ, Gujarati સંદિપ, Kannada ಸಂದೀಪ್, Malayalam സന്ദീപ്, Telugu సందీప్, Tamil சந்தீப் or Nepali सन्दीप (see Sandip).

Sandip m Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Nepali
From Sanskrit सन्दीप् (sandīp) meaning "to blaze, to burn".

Sarala f Tamil, Telugu, Kannada
Feminine form of Saral.

Sekar m Tamil
Tamil form of Shekhar.

Shanthi f Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada
Southern Indian form of Shanti.

Sharmila f Tamil, Marathi
Derived from Sanskrit शर्मन् (śarman) meaning "protection, comfort, joy".

Sheela f Marathi, Kannada, Hindi, Tamil
Alternate transcription of Shila.

Shyamala f Tamil, Telugu, Marathi
Feminine form of Shyamal.

Srinivas m Telugu, Kannada, Tamil
Southern Indian form of Shrinivas.

Sudarshan m Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada
Means "beautiful, good-looking" in Sanskrit, derived from the prefix सु (su) meaning "good" combined with दर्शन (darśana) meaning "seeing, observing".

Sujatha f Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, Sinhalese
South Indian and Sinhala form of Sujata.

Sunil m Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Assamese, Gujarati, Punjabi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Nepali
From Sanskrit सु (su) meaning "good, very" combined with नील (nīla) meaning "dark blue".

Swathi f Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam
Southern Indian form of Swati.

Thamarai f Tamil
Means "lotus" in Tamil.

Varsha f Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil
From Sanskrit वर्ष (varṣa) meaning "rain".

Venkat m Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam
Variant of Venkata.

Venkata m Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam
From the name of a sacred hill in Andhra Pradesh in southern India. It is the home of the Venkateswara Temple, a pilgrimage site for Hindus.

Vimal m Hindi, Marathi, Tamil
From Sanskrit विमल (vimala) meaning "clean, pure, spotless".

Vimala f Tamil
Feminine form of Vimal.

Vinay m Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil
From Sanskrit विनय (vinaya) meaning "leading, guidance, modesty".

Vishal m Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Bengali
From Sanskrit विशाल (viśāla) meaning "wide, broad, spacious".

Vivek m Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali
From Sanskrit विवेक (viveka) meaning "wisdom, distinction, discrimination".

Yamuna f Hinduism, Tamil, Telugu
From the name of an Indian river, a major tributary of the Ganges, derived from Sanskrit यम (yama) meaning "twin". As a Hindu goddess, she is a personification of the river.