Indian Girl Names: 124 Beautiful Names With Origins and Meanings

Indian girl names range from classics like Priya, Anjali and Divya to short modern picks like Diya, Tara and Mira, and this list gives a checked usage and meaning for 124 names from Sanskrit, Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, Punjabi and other Indian languages.

Indian girl names come from many languages and traditions. Most come from Sanskrit words for light, love, knowledge and nature (Diya, Priya, Vidya, Padma), many are names of goddesses and heroines from Hindu texts (Lakshmi, Radha, Savitri), and some are words from Tamil, Punjabi or Bengali (Ezhil, Asees, Laboni).

We grouped the names by style and meaning: classics, short and modern names, Sanskrit virtue names, names from Hindu tradition, nature names, names by language, Punjabi and Sikh names, and names that travel well internationally. Then come notes on spelling, pronunciation and how to choose.

Indian Girl Names at a Glance

Every usage label and meaning on this page was checked against the name’s own entry on Behind the Name in October 2026. Where the reference calls a meaning unknown, uncertain or only possible, we print it that way, and we left out every name we could not verify.

India has many languages and several major religions, so there is no single “Indian” style of name. Behind the Name describes Indian names simply as names used in India and in Indian communities around the world, then labels each entry with the languages or traditions that use it: Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Gujarati, Punjabi, Hinduism, Indian (Sikh) and more. We use those same labels below, and we grouped the names by meaning and style rather than by community.

Start with the familiar classics. These names are used across many Indian languages, and most come from Sanskrit words. If you are also building a wider list, our main guide to baby girl names covers every style.

What Makes a Name Indian? Languages, Scripts and Traditions

When people search for Indian girl names, they usually mean names from Sanskrit or from one of India’s modern languages. That is the focus of this list. It is worth knowing how wide the picture really is, though, because it changes how you read any name list, including this one.

• Many languages: Behind the Name labels Indian names by language: Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Odia, Assamese, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and others. One name can carry ten labels (Puja does) or just one (Ezhil is labeled only Tamil).
• Sanskrit roots: a large share of the names used across these languages come from Sanskrit words, which is why the same name, such as Priya or Divya, is familiar from north to south.
• Several religions: the reference also uses labels such as Hinduism and Indian (Sikh), and lists Indian (Christian), Indian (Muslim) and Indian (Parsi) as sub-usages. Many names in the Indian index are Urdu, Arabic or Persian names used by Muslim families; we kept this page to names from Sanskrit and Indian languages, so those deserve a list of their own.
• Many scripts: the names are written in Devanagari, Bengali, Gurmukhi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and other scripts, so every English spelling is a transliteration. More on that below.

Because of this, we never label a name as belonging to a religion or a region unless the entry itself does. Where a table says “Hinduism”, that is the reference’s own label, usually for a name that appears in Hindu texts. Where it says “feminine and masculine”, the entry records the name for both genders.

Modern and Short Indian Girl Names

Short Indian girl names are easy to spell in any country and pair well with long family names. Most of these have two syllables, and several, like Diya, Tara and Asha, are everyday words with a clear meaning: lamp, star, hope.

A few notes from the reference. Diya is listed as a Hindi word, not a Sanskrit one. Isha, Jaya and Arya are recorded for both genders: Behind the Name explains that one spelling in the Latin alphabet can stand for a feminine and a masculine form that look different in Devanagari script. Anika is described only as the feminine form of Anik, so we print it that way.

Looking for short girl names in other styles? Our list of girl names that start with A includes plenty of two-syllable picks.

Sanskrit Girl Names With Meaning

Sanskrit is the classical language behind a large share of Indian girl names, including many used in Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. The names in this table are Sanskrit words for qualities and ideas: wishes, compassion, knowledge, peace and sight.

Some of these overlap with the next section. Behind the Name notes that Vidya is another name of the goddess Saraswati, Kalyani another name of Parvati, and the feminine form of Nitya an epithet of Durga. Amrita is the feminine form of Amrit, which the reference traces to Sanskrit for “immortal” and which also refers to a drink of immortality in Hindu texts.

Hindu Girl Names From Mythology and the Epics

Many Hindu girl names come from goddesses and from women in the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Puranas and the Vedas. The table gives each name’s meaning and its role exactly as the reference describes it, without adding any symbolism of our own.

A gentle note on deity names: some families love naming a daughter after a goddess, while others prefer to keep those names for prayer, or choose an epithet such as Indira, Kalyani or Uma instead of the main name. Both choices are common, and the right one depends on your own family and tradition. If you are unsure, ask a grandparent or a priest your family trusts.

Two entries are worth a closer look. Gargi is the name of a philosopher named in the Upanishads, and the reference says its meaning is unknown. Usha is given only as a variant of Ushas, with a story from the Bhagavata Purana, so we did not add a meaning the entry does not state.

Nature Names: Lotus, Moon, River and Light

Nature words make some of the prettiest Indian girl names. Behind the Name lists several words for the lotus (Padma, Kamala, Nalini, and Thamarai in Tamil), the moon and moonlight (Chandra, Purnima, Jyotsna), stars (Rohini, Swati, and Tara above), rivers (Yamuna, Ganga) and many words for light and dawn.

Several of these names carry a second layer. Yamuna and Ganga are rivers that are also personified as goddesses in Hindu tradition, per the reference, and Sandhya is also a goddess of twilight. Roshni is the one name here that the reference traces back to Persian rather than Sanskrit. For more botanical ideas, see our flower names list.

Names by Language: Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Bengali

The same Sanskrit name often takes a slightly different form in South India. Behind the Name lists Gayathri as the South Indian variant of Gayatri, Kavitha as the South Indian form of Kavita, and Swathi, Lalitha and Nithya as southern forms of Swati, Lalita and Nitya. Bengali has its own forms too: Labanya is the Bengali form of Lavanya, and Pallabi of Pallav.

A smaller group of names comes from the regional languages themselves. Ezhil and Thamarai are Tamil words, for “beauty” and “lotus”, not Sanskrit ones.

Marathi and Gujarati names appear throughout the other tables: Avani, Tanvi and Prachi carry the Gujarati label, and dozens of names carry the Marathi one. If your family speaks one of these languages at home, ask a relative which form sounds most natural to them.

Punjabi and Sikh Girl Names

Behind the Name labels a group of names as Indian (Sikh) and another as Punjabi. Many Sikh given names are used for both girls and boys, and many end in -preet (from Sanskrit priti, “pleasure, joy, love”) or -deep (“lamp, light”).

Kaur is special. According to the reference, Guru Gobind Singh gave it to all Sikh women in 1699, and most Sikh women today use it as a surname or a middle name; its male counterpart is Singh. So in many Sikh families, a girl’s full name pairs a given name such as Simran or Harpreet with Kaur. Our guide to Indian boy names covers the masculine side.

Names That Travel Well Internationally

If your family lives in more than one country, look for a name that is easy to spell and say in all of them. This is a style question only, and many of the names above already fit: Tara, Mira, Asha, Nila, Uma, Isha, Kiran and Arya are short, use letters common in English, and are hard to mispronounce. The four names below are especially easy to carry across languages.

None of these names is in the U.S. top 10. For girls born in 2025, the Social Security Administration’s top 10 were Olivia, Charlotte, Emma, Amelia, Sophia, Mia, Isabella, Evelyn, Sofia and Eliana, so a name like Maya, Tara or Priya will be familiar to most people without being shared by several girls in one classroom. You can check any name’s history with the Popularity of a Name search on the SSA baby names page. For more names in this spirit, see our unique girl names list.

Spelling, Pronunciation and Name Forms

Indian names are written in many scripts (Devanagari, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Gurmukhi and others), so every English spelling is a transliteration. That is why the same name can appear as Puja or Pooja, Dipa or Deepa. The table lists only the variant spellings each entry gives.

Pet forms and nicknames are usually made at home, and the reference lists very few for these names. One it does give: Behind the Name lists Radhika as a diminutive of Radha, used in Hindu scripture as an endearing form. Tanvi’s entry lists the shorter Tanu as a variant. For more on short forms in English, see our guide to nicknames for girls.

For pronunciation, we print only what the entries give, in the International Phonetic Alphabet. Most entries in this list do not print a pronunciation, so ask a family member or a native speaker for the rest. Also note that U.S. paperwork does not always carry accents or other diacritic marks, so the plain spelling you choose may be the one that appears on official records.

How to Choose an Indian Girl Name

A few practical steps that help many families narrow a long list:

• Start with family traditions: some families follow religious, regional or family customs for choosing a name, and some ask an elder or a priest for guidance. Talk with the people whose traditions matter to you before you fall in love with a shortlist.
• Check the meaning in one reliable reference: meanings repeated across baby-name websites are often embroidered. If a site gives a dramatic meaning that the reference does not, trust the reference.
• Decide on a spelling early: pick Deepa or Dipa, Meera or Mira, and use it the same way on the birth certificate, passport and school forms.
• Say it in every language your child will hear: try the full name with your surname in English and in your home language, and listen for an awkward rhythm or an unwanted word.
• Think about the middle name: a short first name such as Diya or Tara balances a long family name, and a long one such as Saraswati or Aishwarya pairs well with a short middle name. Our middle names guide has more pairing tips.
• Long or short: long Indian girl names such as Aishwarya, Arundhati, Damayanti and Aparajita sound graceful and formal, while two-syllable names such as Riya, Esha and Nila are quick to say on a busy playground. Neither is better; think about how the name sounds when you call it across a room. Our long names list has more ideas in the longer style.
• Look at the full meaning: some names have more than one sense in the reference. Rashmi can mean a ray of sunlight or a rope, and Kiran can mean a sunbeam, dust or a thread. Read the whole entry, not just the first word.
• Consider siblings: if you are planning more children, say the names together and check that the initials and rhythms do not clash.

Pairing ideas, not rules: Tara Lakshmi, Diya Shanti, Mira Kalyani, Anjali Devi, Avani Kaur and Isha Saraswati.

Related Betteroo Guides

• Indian boy names
• Baby girl names
• Unique girl names
• Flower names
• Middle names
• Japanese girl names

The Bottom Line

Indian girl names cover every style: classics like Priya, Anjali and Divya, short picks like Diya, Tara and Mira, Sanskrit virtue names like Vidya and Shanti, names from Hindu tradition like Lakshmi and Radha, nature names like Padma and Jyotsna, Tamil words like Ezhil and Thamarai, and Sikh names like Simran and Harpreet. Shortlist three to five, read each meaning in a reliable reference, settle on one spelling, and say the full name out loud with your surname.

Ready to share the news? See our pregnancy announcement ideas. And once the name is settled, sleep is the next project: our newborn sleep schedule week by week is a gentle place to start.

Frequently Asked Questions