Boy, also used for girls · Sanskrit · Hindu
Bhanu
भानुSay it BHAA-noo
- Meaning
- Brightness, light, a ray; the sun Monier-Williams, p. 751
- Say it
- BHAA-noo
- Written
- भानु
- First sound
- भा · Dhanu rashi
Bhanu
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Bhanu meaning
Bhanu (भानु) is a Hindu boy's name of Sanskrit origin, also used for girls. By its first sound, भा, it is a Dhanu rashi name (Mula nakshatra) in the North Indian table.
Brightness, light, a ray; the sun
Bhanu (भानु) is the Sanskrit bhānu. Monier-Williams gives its first senses as "appearance, brightness, light or a ray of light, lustre, splendour", cited from the Rigveda, and its later sense as "the sun". The dictionary also lists Bhānu as a name of Śiva, of an Āditya and of a son of Kṛṣṇa, and as a feminine name of a daughter of Kṛṣṇa and of a daughter of Dakṣa, so the word has served as a name for both men and women since the epics and Purāṇas. Name lists give Bhanu as "sun" or "light", matching the dictionary. A notable modern bearer was Bhanu Athaiya, who shared the Academy Award for costume design for Richard Attenborough's Gandhi at the 1983 ceremony.
In Hindu tradition this is a name of Surya.
Source: Monier-Williams, Sanskrit–English Dictionary (1899), p. 751 · entry bhānu · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026
References: Monier-Williams, bhānu, p. 751 · Oscars.org, The 55th Academy Awards (1983)
Famous namesakes
- Bhanu Athaiya, Oscar-winning costume designer of Gandhi
Fits your syllable
First sound भा
Mula nakshatra, pada 3 · Dhanu rashi
North Indian table. Tables vary by region and family tradition, so confirm with your priest.