Browse Names - Behind the Name

Shafiq شفیق, শফিক m Arabic, Urdu, Bengali, Malay
Means "compassionate" in Arabic, from the root شفق (shafaqa) meaning "to pity, to sympathize".

Shahed শাহেদ m Arabic, Bengali
Alternate transcription of Arabic شاهد (see Shahid 1), as well as the usual Bengali form.

Shaheen شاہین m Persian, Urdu
Alternate transcription of Persian شاهین (see Shahin), as well as the usual Urdu transcription.

Shahid 1 شاہد m Arabic, Urdu
Means "witness" in Arabic. In Islamic tradition الشاهد (al-Shāhid) is one of the 99 names of Allah.

Shahid 2 শহীদ m Arabic, Bengali
Means "martyr, witness" in Arabic. This name is related to Shahid 1, though it is spelled distinctly in Arabic.

Shahin শাহীন m Persian, Arabic, Bengali
Means "falcon" in Persian, referring more specifically to the Barbary falcon (species Falco pelegrinoides). The bird's name is a derivative of Persian شاه (shāh) meaning "king".

Shahjahan شاہ جہان m Urdu
Means "king of the world" from Persian شاه (shāh) meaning "king" and جهان (jahān) meaning "world". This was the name of the 17th-century Mughal emperor who built the Taj Mahal.

Shahnaz شہناز f & m Persian, Arabic, Urdu
Means "delight of the king" from Persian شاه (shāh) meaning "king" and ناز (nāz) meaning "delight, comfort, coquetry".

Shahrukh شاہرخ, शाहरुख़ m Urdu, Hindi
Urdu and Hindi form of Shahrokh. A notable bearer is the Indian actor Shahrukh Khan (1965-), normally called Shah Rukh Khan.

Shahzad شہزاد m Persian, Arabic, Urdu
Means "prince, son of the king" in Persian.

Shahzada شہزادہ m Urdu
Variant of Shahzad.

Shakir شاکر m Arabic, Urdu
Means "thankful" in Arabic, from the root شكر (shakara) meaning "to thank".

Shakti शक्ति f & m Hinduism, Hindi
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.

Shams شمس f & m Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Semitic Mythology
Means "sun" in Arabic. This was the name of a pre-Islamic Arabian goddess of the sun, identified with the Akkadian sun god Shamash (whose name is related) and the northern Arabian goddess Nuha.

Shamsuddin শামসুদ্দিন m Arabic, Bengali, Malay
Alternate transcription of Arabic شمس الدين (see Shams ad-Din), as well as the usual Bengali and Malay form.

Shandar شاندار m Urdu
Means "fabulous" in Urdu.

Shankar शंकर, ಶಂಕರ್, ശങ്കർ, శంకర్, சங்கர், শংকর m Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, Nepali
Modern transcription of Shankara.

Shantanu शंतनु, শান্তনু m Hinduism, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali
Means "wholesome" in Sanskrit. In the Hindu epic the Mahabharata this is the name of a king of Hastinapura.

Sharad शरद m Hindi, Marathi, Nepali
From Sanskrit शरद् (śarad) meaning "autumn".

Sharif شریف m Arabic, Urdu, Pashto, Persian, Tajik, Uzbek, Malay
Means "noble, eminent" in Arabic, a derivative of شرف (sharufa) meaning "to be noble, to be illustrious". This was a title used by the descendants of Muhammad.

Sharma शर्म m Hindi
From Sanskrit शर्मन् (śarman) meaning "protection, comfort, joy".

Shashi शशि, शशी, শশী, ಶಶಿ, శశి m & f Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Kannada, Telugu
Traditional name for the moon, it literally means "having a hare" in Sanskrit. This is a transcription of both the masculine form शशि and the feminine form शशी (spelled with a long final vowel).

Shaukat شوکت m Urdu
Urdu transcription of Shawkat.

Shawkat শওকত m Arabic, Bengali
Derived from Arabic شوكة (shawka) meaning "bravery, valour, power".

Shekhar शेखर, ਸ਼ੇਖਰ, શેખર m Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, Gujarati
From Sanskrit शेखर (śekhara) meaning "crest, crown, peak".

Sher شیر m Urdu, Pashto
Means "lion" in Persian. A famous bearer of this name was Sher Shah, a 16th-century Mughal ruler.

Shib শিব m Bengali
Bengali form of Shiva 1.

Shiv शिव, ਸ਼ਿਵ m Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi
Northern Indian form of Shiva 1.

Shiva 1 शिव, శివ, ಶಿವ, ശിവ, சிவா m Hinduism, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Nepali
Derived from Sanskrit शिव (śiva) meaning "benign, kind, auspicious". Shiva is the Hindu god of destruction and restoration, the husband of the mother goddess Parvati. Though he does not appear in the Vedas, Shiva nevertheless incorporates elements of Vedic deities such as the storm god Rudra. He is often depicted with four arms and a third eye, and has both fierce and gentle aspects.... [more]

Shresth श्रेष्ठ m Hindi
Means "most excellent, best" in Sanskrit.

Shrinivas श्रीनिवास m Marathi
Means "the abode of Shri" from the name of the Hindu goddess Shri combined with Sanskrit निवास (nivāsa) meaning "abode, house".

Shriram श्रीराम m Hindi, Marathi
From the Sanskrit honorific श्री (śrī) meaning "radiance, splendour" combined with the name of the Hindu deity Rama 1.

Shrivatsa श्रीवत्स m Hindi (Rare)
Means "beloved of Shri" from the name of the Hindu goddess Shri combined with Sanskrit वत्स (vatsa) meaning "beloved, dear". This is the name of a mark on Vishnu's chest.

Shubham शुभम m Hindi, Marathi
Derived from Sanskrit शुभ (śubha) meaning "splendid, bright, auspicious".

Shyam श्याम, శ్యామ్, ശ്യാം, சியாம், ಶ್ಯಾಮ್, শ্যাম m Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Bengali, Nepali
Modern masculine form of Shyama.

Shyamal শ্যামল m Bengali
From Sanskrit श्यामल (śyāmala), a derivative of श्याम (śyāma) meaning "dark, black, blue".

Usage	clear
Language	clear
Place	clear

Initial	clear
Start	clear
End	clear
Substring	clear
Pattern	clear help?
the letters in the pattern are compared to the letters in the name * is a wildcard that matches zero or more letters example: oo matches names which contain oo _ is a wildcard that matches exactly one letter example: __z matches names which have two letters and then z

Meaning	clear help?
	expand search to include grammatical forms
	expand search to include close synonyms
	expand search to include subclasses
	expand search to related names
separate search terms with spaces search for an exact phrase by surrounding it with double quotes this field understands simple boolean logic force a term to be included by preceding it with a + sign force a term to be excluded by preceding it with a - sign expand search to include grammatical forms: attempt to include grammatical forms of the meanings example: speak includes spoke expand search to include close synonyms: attempt to include synonyms of the meanings example: brave includes courageous expand search to include search narrower synonyms: attempt to include subclasses of the meanings example: reptile includes turtle expand search to related names: allow related names to inherit the meaning of the main form
Description	clear help?
	ignore name meanings
the description is the meaning and history write-up for the name separate search terms with spaces search for an exact phrase by surrounding it with double quotes example: "lord of the rings" matches names from the novel 'The Lord of the Rings' this field understands simple boolean logic force a term to be included by preceding it with a + sign force a term to be excluded by preceding it with a - sign example: +greek +(legend myth) -zeus matches Greek names of myths or legends not about Zeus ignore name meanings: keywords from the name meanings are ignored

Pronunciation	clear help?
	case sensitive
see the pronunciation key for a guide on how to write the sounds sounds can only be searched in names that have been assigned pronunciations * is a wildcard that will match zero or more letters in the pronunciation example: lee matches names which end with the sound lee* _ is a wildcard that will match exactly one letter in the pronunciation example: __z matches names which have two letters and then a z (s) matches exactly one syllable in the pronunciation example: (s)(s)ra matches names which have two syllables and then the sound rah (c) matches a consonant (k) matches a consonant or consonant cluster (v) matches a vowel (p) matches a plosive or stop consonant (f) matches a fricative consonant (n) matches a nasal consonant case sensitive: check this if you wish distinguish between unstressed lowercase sounds and stressed uppercase sounds
Syllables	clear help?
syllables can only be counted in names that have been assigned pronunciations names without pronunciations are excluded from results

Related name	clear
Relationship	clear help?
	expand search to ancestral names
the "relationship" is how the name relates to its parent name example: searching for diminutive matches Betsy because it is a diminutive of its parent Elizabeth selecting *(all core forms)* excludes peripheral forms such as diminutives, short forms, and combinations expand search to ancestral names: relationships between names further up the family tree are included

Impression	clear help?
name impressions are based on the ratings left by the behindthename.com community
Impression	clear help?
name impressions are based on the ratings left by the behindthename.com community
Impression	clear help?
name impressions are based on the ratings left by the behindthename.com community

List	clear
Year	clear
Rank	clear

Country	clear
Month	clear
Day	clear

Sort	clear
Display	clear