Kannada Baby Names with Meanings
Kannada names for boys and girls with meanings — from Karnataka's temple towns and vachana poets to the short modern names Bengaluru parents choose.
Karnataka's naming pulls from two directions: the classical, built on Sanskrit and the devotional vachana poetry of saints like Basavanna and Akka Mahadevi (Basava, Mahadevi, Allama), and the regional, tied to Karnataka's own deities and pilgrimage towns — Chamundeshwari of Mysuru, Manjunatha of Dharmasthala, Subrahmanya of Kukke — giving boys names like Manju and Manjunath and girls names like Chamundi and Gowri.
Bengaluru's tech-industry families have pushed the trend towards short, globally readable names — Aarav, Ishaan, Anika, Diya — while still keeping a Kannada accent through endings like -esh, -appa (older generation) and -a for girls. Namakarana, the naming ceremony, is usually held on the eleventh or twelfth day and remains one of the most widely observed of the traditional samskaras in Karnataka households.
Below are the Kannada names in our catalogue, most common first. Pair the country filter with the letter pages if you're naming by nakshatra syllable.
boy girl unisex — tap a name to see it in the finder with your surname.
Popular kannada names 19
- Nithya — eternal
- Divya — divine, heavenly
- Karthik — son of Shiva, bestower of courage
- Kavya — poetry
- Lakshmi — goddess of wealth
- Rakesh — lord of the full-moon night
- Rashmi — ray of light
- Sachin — pure, true
- Shreya — auspicious, beautiful
- Tejas — brilliance, sharpness
- Yamuna — the sacred river
- Yash — fame, glory
- Adarsh — ideal, principle
- Pallavi — new leaves
- Poornima — full moon
- Rahul — conqueror of all miseries
- Uday — sunrise, to rise
- Usha — dawn
- Vidya — knowledge, learning
Boy names 40
- Karthik — son of Shiva, bestower of courage
- Rakesh — lord of the full-moon night
- Sachin — pure, true
- Tejas — brilliance, sharpness
- Yash — fame, glory
- Adarsh — ideal, principle
- Rahul — conqueror of all miseries
- Uday — sunrise, to rise
- Manoj — born of the mind, love
- Chirag — lamp, light
- Dhanush — bow
- Nithin — master of the right path
- Vikram — valour, stride
- Darshan — vision, sight of the divine
- Ganesh — lord of the multitudes
- Girish — lord of the mountain, Shiva
- Kartik — bestower of courage, a month
- Prajwal — bright, shining
- Vijay — victory
- Manjunath — lord of Dharmasthala, Shiva
- Nagaraj — king of serpents
- Puneeth — pure
- Rakshit — protected
- Rishab — bull, excellent
- Shivarajkumar — prince of Shiva
- Santosh — contentment
- Vinayak — lord Ganesh
- Pavan — wind, purifier
- Pradeep — lamp, light
- Shashank — the moon
- Sujay — great victory
- Umesh — lord of Uma, Shiva
- Basavaraj — king of the bull, the saint Basava
- Chethan — consciousness
- Harish — lord Shiva
- Raghavendra — the saint, lord of the Raghus
- Sharath — autumn
- Suhas — good laughter
- Veeresh — lord of heroes
- Sandesh — message
Girl names 40
- Nithya — eternal
- Divya — divine, heavenly
- Kavya — poetry
- Lakshmi — goddess of wealth
- Rashmi — ray of light
- Shreya — auspicious, beautiful
- Yamuna — the sacred river
- Pallavi — new leaves
- Poornima — full moon
- Usha — dawn
- Vidya — knowledge, learning
- Nayana — eye
- Sahana — patience, a raga
- Chandana — sandalwood
- Tejaswini — radiant, brilliant
- Ambika — mother, goddess Parvati
- Bhoomika — the earth, introduction
- Chinmayi — full of consciousness, blissful
- Deepthi — brightness
- Jyothi — light
- Manasa — mind, intellect
- Manvitha — honoured, respected
- Prerana — inspiration
- Sanjana — gentle, harmonious
- Varsha — rain
- Yashaswini — successful, famous
- Ankitha — marked, distinguished
- Ganavi — singer
- Harshitha — joyful
- Impana — sweet, lovely
- Kavana — poetry
- Kushi — happiness
- Namratha — humility
- Rakshitha — protected
- Shwetha — white, pure
- Sinchana — sprinkling, drizzle
- Spoorthi — inspiration
- Sushmitha — beautiful smile
- Vismaya — wonder, amazement
- Chaitra — the first month of spring
Hindu kannada names 30
- Nithya — eternal
- Divya — divine, heavenly
- Karthik — son of Shiva, bestower of courage
- Kavya — poetry
- Lakshmi — goddess of wealth
- Rakesh — lord of the full-moon night
- Rashmi — ray of light
- Sachin — pure, true
- Shreya — auspicious, beautiful
- Tejas — brilliance, sharpness
- Yamuna — the sacred river
- Yash — fame, glory
- Adarsh — ideal, principle
- Pallavi — new leaves
- Poornima — full moon
- Rahul — conqueror of all miseries
- Uday — sunrise, to rise
- Usha — dawn
- Vidya — knowledge, learning
- Kiran — ray of light
- Manoj — born of the mind, love
- Chirag — lamp, light
- Nayana — eye
- Dhanush — bow
- Madhu — honey, sweet
- Nithin — master of the right path
- Sahana — patience, a raga
- Vikram — valour, stride
- Chandana — sandalwood
- Darshan — vision, sight of the divine
Modern picks 12
Classic picks 32
- Kiran — ray of light
- Manoj — born of the mind, love
- Chirag — lamp, light
- Nayana — eye
- Nithin — master of the right path
- Sahana — patience, a raga
- Vikram — valour, stride
- Deepthi — brightness
- Jyothi — light
- Kartik — bestower of courage, a month
- Manasa — mind, intellect
- Prajwal — bright, shining
- Prerana — inspiration
- Sanjana — gentle, harmonious
- Ankitha — marked, distinguished
- Nagaraj — king of serpents
- Namratha — humility
- Puneeth — pure
- Rishab — bull, excellent
- Shwetha — white, pure
- Santosh — contentment
- Pradeep — lamp, light
- Chethan — consciousness
- Sandesh — message
- Tanuja — daughter
- Jeevan — life
- Yashas — fame, glory
- Bhagya — fortune
- Hemanth — early winter
- Lohith — red
- Preetham — beloved
- Ranjitha — adorned
Rare gems 11
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Meanings and origins are compiled from common references and are approximate. Many names carry several meanings across traditions — please confirm with family or a native speaker before deciding. Updated 2026-09-20.