Boy · Tamil
Ayyanar
ஐயனார்Say it AI-yuh-naar
- Meaning today
- Village guardian deity, lord
- Original meaning
- "Aiyanar, the guardian deity of Tamil villages" Tamil Lexicon, p. 581
- Say it
- AI-yuh-naar
- Written
- ஐயனார்
- Other spellings
- Aiyanar, Ayyanaar
Ayyanar
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Ayyanar meaning
Ayyanar (ஐயனார்) is a Tamil boy's name.
Aiyanar, the guardian deity of Tamil villages
Also used to mean: village guardian deity, lord
Ayyanar (ஐயனார்) is the guardian god of the Tamil countryside, whose shrines with large terracotta horses stand at the edges of villages. The Tamil Lexicon describes him as the village guardian deity, with a cock on his banner and a black horse to ride, and glosses him as the son of Hari and Hara, Vishnu and Shiva. The name is the respectful plural of aiyaṉ, "lord, master, father". Families devoted to their village Ayyanar give his name to sons, mostly in rural Tamil Nadu, and he is often linked with Sastha and Ayyappan.
Source: Tamil Lexicon, University of Madras (1924–36), p. 581 · entry aiyaṉār (ஐயனார்) · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026
References: Tamil Lexicon, aiyaṉār, p. 581 · Tamil Lexicon, aiyaṉ, p. 581 · Wikipedia, Ayyanar
Spellings
Ayyanar · Aiyanar · Ayyanaar