Boy · Sanskrit · Hindu
Gopal
गोपालSay it goh-PAAL
- Meaning
- Cowherd; a name of Krishna Monier-Williams, p. 365
- Say it
- goh-PAAL
- Written
- गोपाल
- Other spellings
- Gopaal
- First sound
- गो · Kumbh rashi
Gopal
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Gopal meaning
Gopal (गोपाल) is a Hindu boy's name of Sanskrit origin. By its first sound, गो, it is a Kumbh rashi name (Shatabhisha nakshatra) in the North Indian table.
Cowherd; a name of Krishna
Gopal (गोपाल) is Sanskrit go-pāla, from go, "cow", and pāla, "keeper, protector", so a cowherd. Monier-Williams traces the plain sense back to the Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā and the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, and records Gopāla as a name of Kṛṣṇa in the Mahābhārata, recalling his boyhood among the cowherds. The dictionary also gives a figurative sense, "protector of the earth", that is, a king, and lists Gopāla as a name of Śiva in the lexicons. Baby-name lists agree on "cowherd" or "protector of cows", matching the dictionary. The name is used all over India, on its own and in longer forms such as Gopalakrishna. A well-known bearer is Gopal Krishna Gokhale, the moderate nationalist leader whom Gandhi regarded as his political guru.
In Hindu tradition this is a name of Krishna.
Source: Monier-Williams, Sanskrit–English Dictionary (1899), p. 365 · entry gopāla · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026
References: Monier-Williams, gopāla, p. 365 · Britannica, India: Indian nationalism and the British response, 1885–1920
Famous namesakes
- Gopala, a name of Krishna
- Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Indian nationalist leader and social reformer
Fits your syllable
First sound गो
Shatabhisha nakshatra, pada 1 · Kumbh rashi
North Indian table. Tables vary by region and family tradition, so confirm with your priest.
Spellings
Gopal · Gopaal