Bengali names
What are Bengali names like?
Aparajita is used in Bengali and means “unconquered”, with roots in Sanskrit, an ancient language of India. Suman is also used in Bengali, combining Sanskrit elements for “good” and “mind”.
Bengali culture has a naming custom found almost nowhere else: nearly every child gets both a bhalo naam, a formal name for the world, and a daak naam, a private pet name used only by family. Names often draw from poetry and nature, a legacy of the literary tradition that gave the world Rabindranath Tagore.
Part ofSouth Asian names · Asian names
Abir the Bengali word for the colored powder thrown during Holi/Dol Jatra celebrations
Amitava boundless light, boundless splendor; a Bengali form of Amitabha, the name of a principal Buddha of Mahayana Buddhism
Angshuman radiant, full of rays; from Sanskrit amshuman, also a word for the sun
Anindita flawless, blameless, without fault (Sanskrit a-, without + nindita, blamed)
Anirban eternal, undying flame (Sanskrit a-, un- + nirvana, extinguishing), an inextinguishable light
Antara inner self, one who lives in the heart; also the name for the second section of a Hindustani classical music composition
Anwesha search, quest, inquiry (Sanskrit anveshana); connotes a seeker of truth or knowledge
Aparajita unconquered, unsurpassed, from Sanskrit aparajita; in Bengali, the aparajita or butterfly-pea vine (Clitoria ternatea)
Aritra an oar or rudder used to propel or steer a boat, hence "helmsman, navigator" (a Vedic-era Sanskrit word preserved chiefly as a Bengali given name)
Arko sun, ray of light; a Bengali form of Sanskrit arka, also a name for Surya, the Hindu sun god
Baishakhi of Boishakh, the first month of the Bengali calendar and the month of Pohela Boishakh, the Bengali New Year
Biswajit conqueror of the world (Sanskrit vishva, world + jita, conquered)
Bratati a creeper or climbing vine; also carries a sense of "vow, devotion" from the Sanskrit root vrata
Debashish blessing of the gods (Bengali deba, god + ashish, blessing)
Debjyoti light of god (Bengali deb, god + jyoti, light)
Debolina devoted to, or absorbed in, the divine (Sanskrit deva, god + lina, absorbed)
Doyel the Oriental magpie-robin, a small black-and-white songbird and the national bird of Bangladesh
Dwaipayan born on an island; a name for Vyasa, a wise teacher in Hindu tradition. He is said to have been born on a river island, gathered and arranged the Vedas, Hindu sacred texts, and written the epic poem Mahabharata
Ichamati a river of the Bengal delta on the India-Bangladesh border; from Bengali/Sanskrit iccha (wish, desire) and mati (mind), "the river of its own will," for its history of shifting course
Ipsita desired, wished for, longed for (Sanskrit ipsita, from the root ips, to desire)
Ishani a feminine divine name; Ishani appears as a Durga and Shakti in Sanskrit sacred literature
Jhilmil sparkle, glitter, twinkle, especially the shimmer of light on water or stars
Kajol kohl, collyrium, the dark powder traditionally worn as eyeliner; used as an endearment for dark, expressive eyes
Mayurakshi peacock-eyed (mayur, peacock + akshi, eye); also a river of West Bengal and Jharkhand known for its clear dry-season water
Mousumi season, especially the monsoon season (from Bengali mausumi, ultimately via Persian/Arabic mausim)
Nandini daughter in Sanskrit; name of the heroine of Rabindranath Tagore's play Raktakarabi (Red Oleanders)
Padma lotus in Sanskrit; also the Padma River, the combined flow of the Ganges and Jamuna after their confluence
Piyali a fragrant flowering Bengali tree/vine; also the name of a river near the Sundarbans in West Bengal
Poushali of Poush, given to a girl born in Poush, the ninth month of the Bengali calendar (December-January)
Prasenjit "a king of the epics"; from Prasenajit, a historical king of Kosala in the 6th century BCE and a contemporary and patron of the Buddha
Sabuj green
Saibal moss (from Sanskrit shaivala)
Sailesh lord of the mountain, from Sanskrit shaila, "mountain", and isha, "lord"; a name used for the Himalaya
Salil water
Samiran a gentle breeze, wind
Samudra sea, ocean
Sanchita accumulated, gathered, collected (Sanskrit sanchita); evokes sanchita karma, the store of one's past deeds in Hindu thought
Saroj lotus, literally "lake-born" (saras, lake + ja, born)
Sashanka the moon, literally "hare-marked," from the hare-shaped pattern traditionally seen on the moon's face
Sayandeep lamp of dusk, an evening light (sayan, evening + deep, lamp)
Shaila mountain (Sanskrit shaila); used as a given name in its own right, distinct from the male compound names Shailendra/Sailesh ("lord of the mountain")
Shailendra lord of the mountains, from Sanskrit shaila, "mountain", and indra, "lord"; a name used for the Himalaya
Sharad autumn, the Indian post-monsoon season
Sharbari night
Shishir dew, dewdrop; also the name of the cool, dewy late-winter season
Shravan the name of the rainy-season month on the Bengali calendar; also recalls Shravana Kumara, a figure known in Hindu legend for his devotion to his parents
Sohini beautiful, charming, splendid; also the name of a Hindustani classical raga associated with the late evening
Sraboni of Shrabon, given to a girl born in Shrabon, the rainy fourth month of the Bengali calendar (mid-July to mid-August)
Subhrangshu white rays; a poetic name for the moon, from shubhra, "white" or "pure," and angshu, "ray"
Suchismita one with a pure or beautiful smile (Sanskrit suchi, pure + smita, smile)
Sukanta very handsome; charming, from Sanskrit sukanta
Suman flower; also "good-minded" (su-, good + man, mind)
Trina grass, a blade of grass, used in Bengali for its humble, close-to-earth image; also a familiar Western nickname for Katrina
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