Malayalam Origin Names

Abhilash m Malayalam, Hindi
Means "desire, wish" in Sanskrit.

Abhishek m Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil
Means "anointing" in Sanskrit.

Aishwarya f Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil
Means "prosperity, wealth" in Sanskrit. 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".

Akhil m Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam
Means "whole, complete" in Sanskrit.

Akhila f Telugu, Malayalam
Feminine form of Akhil.

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
Means "immeasurable, infinite" in Sanskrit.

Anjali f Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Nepali
Means "salutation" in Sanskrit.

Anoop m Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Malayalam
Alternate transcription of Hindi/Marathi अनूप, Bengali অনুপ or Malayalam അനൂപ് (see Anup).

Anup m Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Malayalam
Means "watery, place near the water, lagoon" in Sanskrit.

Archana f Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil
Means "honouring, praising" in Sanskrit. This is the name of a Hindu ritual.

Arya 1 m & f Persian, Hindi, Malayalam
From an old Indo-Iranian root meaning "Aryan, noble". In India, this is a transcription of both the masculine form आर्य and the feminine form आर्या. In Iran it is only a masculine name.

Asha 1 f Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam
Derived from Sanskrit आशा (asha) meaning "wish, desire, hope".

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

Aswathi m Malayalam
From Sanskrit अशवत्थ (ashvattha) meaning "sacred fig tree".

Bhavana f Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam
Means "producing, manifesting, thought, emotion" in Sanskrit.

Bhavna f Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam
Alternate transcription of Hindi/Marathi भावना, Kannada ಭಾವನಾ or Malayalam ഭാവന (see Bhavana).

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
Means "light, lamp" in Sanskrit.

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.

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

Jyothi f & m Telugu, Malayalam
Telugu and Malayalam form of Jyoti.

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

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

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

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 "sweet, honey". This is another name of Chaitra, the first month of the Hindu year (which occurs in March and April).

Madhuri f Marathi, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada
Means "sweetness" in Sanskrit.

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

Manju f Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu
Means "lovely, beautiful" in Sanskrit.

Manjula f Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam
Means "pleasing, beautiful" in Sanskrit.

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

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

Nalini f Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi
Means "lotus" in Sanskrit.

Namrata f Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Nepali
Means "bowing, humility" in Sanskrit.

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
Means "new" in Sanskrit.

Neha f Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada, Punjabi, Gujarati, Bengali, Telugu
Possibly from Sanskrit स्नेह (sneha) meaning "love, tenderness".

Nikhil m Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Odia, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil
Means "whole, entire" in Sanskrit.

Nisha f Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Bengali, Nepali
Means "night" in Sanskrit.

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

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

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).

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 (pradipa) meaning "light, lantern".

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

Prasad m Telugu, Marathi, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Odia, Bengali, Nepali
Means "brightness, clearness, graciousness, offering" in Sanskrit. This is a word referring to an offering of food made to a deity.

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
Means "skilled" in Sanskrit.

Prem m Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Nepali
Means "love, affection" in Sanskrit.

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

Puja f Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Punjabi, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Nepali
Means "honour, worship" in Sanskrit. This is the name of a Hindu ritual of reverence.

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

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

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 (raja) meaning "king" and ईश (isha) meaning "lord, ruler".

Rajiv m Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Tamil, Nepali
Means "striped" in Sanskrit. 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 (raka) meaning "full moon" and ईश (isha) meaning "lord, ruler".

Richa f Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Bengali
Means "praise, verse, sacred text" in Sanskrit.

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
Means "blazing" in Sanskrit.

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

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 (nila) meaning "dark blue".

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

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.

Vinay m Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil
Means "leading, guidance, modesty" in Sanskrit.

Vipin m Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam
Means "forest" in Sanskrit.

Vivek m Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali
Means "wisdom, distinction, discrimination" in Sanskrit.