Shasta

Shasta is a name with many backgrounds: Origin: unknown; Sanskrit Meaning: unknown, though it’s the name of a mountain in California, the name of a Native American tribe, and the name of a daisy; also the name of a Hindu god “teacher, guide” Usage: English (as a given name)

Savitri

Savitri सावित्री is an Indian female name, the feminine form of Savitr, meaning “rouser, stimulator, impeller, vivifier”, from the Sanskrit root sū सू (to propel, impel, set in motion; to rouse, vivify, stimulate) combined with agentive suffix -tr -तृ. Savitr is a solar deity in Hinduism, sometimes identified with (or at other times distinguished from)…

Urvashi

Urvashi is the name of an apsara (a heavenly female spirit of clouds and water in Hinduism and Buddhist culture), considered the most beautiful of all apsaras. She was born from the thigh of one of the Nara-Narayana, a duo of sage brothers, the twin avatar of Vishnu the Preserver, when Indra tried to tempt…

Yami

Yami is the twin sister of Yama, the Hindu god of death in Hindu mythology. Her name is the feminine form of Yama meaning “twin”. Yami is also a Spanish female name, a nickname for Yamilet or Yamileth, both a variant of Yamila, the Spanish (specifically Latin American form) of Jamila, an Arabic female name…

Yama

Yama is the name of the Hindu god of death and justice in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. Yama is also the Pashto form of Jam, the Persian form of Avestan Yima, itself the cognate of Yama. The name comes from Sanskrit yama meaning “twin” which ultimately derives from a PIE root word. Yama is also…

Lakshmi

Lakshmi is the name of the Hindu goddess of good luck, prosperity, and beauty. The wife of Vishnu (a major deity in Hinduism). The name means “sign, mark” which derives from Sanskrit root lakṣ लक्ष् (perceive, observe) which ultimately derives from a PIE root word. Origin: Proto-Indo-European Meaning: “sign, mark” Usage: Indian, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada,…

Indira

Indira is a Hindu female name meaning “beauty” and is another name for Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of luck, prosperity, wealth and joy. Origin: Sanskrit Meaning: “beauty” Usage: Hindu, Indian, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi, Hindi, Odia Variants: Intira (Thai)

Roma

Roma is the Latin and Italian name for the city of Rome, a name of uncertain etymology though there are several possible theories regarding the name’s etymology: according to Roman mythology, Rome’s name derives from the name of its founder and first king, Romulus whose name means “of Rome”, also of unknown meaning; it may be derived…

Shiva

Shiva is the Hindu god of destruction and transformation in Hindu mythology, one of the principal gods in Hinduism along with Brahma and Vishnu; he was the husband of Parvati. The name comes from Sanskrit śivá शिव meaning “auspicious, benign, gracious, favorable” which ultimately derived from PIE root word *ḱey- (to be lying down; to settle). Shiva شیوا is also…

Ganesh

Ganesh is a variant of Ganesha, the name of the Hindu god of good fortune, wisdom, and of gates and beginnings, identified as the son of Parvati and Shiva. He is depicted as having the head of an elephant. The name is composed of Sanskrit gaṇá गण  “multitude, flock, group) ultimately from PIE root word *h₂ger- (to gather; flock, herd) and īśá ईश (owning,…

Aditi

Aditi is the name of an important goddess in Hinduism, a Mother Goddess, the mother of all the gods and the cosmos, as well as being the goddess of divine wisdom and the personification of the infinite. The name means “boundless, infinite, limitless” or “freedom, security”, composed of prefix a-अ- (not, un-) and diti दिति (giving, or figuratively “being free”). …

Leela

Leela is a variant transcription of Lila, an Indian female name meaning “play, amusement”. It’s a concept in Hinduism in which creation is the outcome of creative play by the creator god Brahma. Origin: Sanskrit Meaning: “play, amusement” Usage: Indian, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam Variants: Lila (Indian, Hindi)

Maya, Maia

Maya and Maia sound exactly the same but depending on the spelling of the name, they contain vastly different etymologies and meanings. Maya for instance is the name of the Mayan civilization and its people, a Mesoamerican civilization that once stretched across southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. Maya is a relatively modern term…