Girl · Sanskrit · Hindu
Kalpana
कल्पनाSay it KUL-pa-naa
- Meaning
- Making, fashioning, arranging; creating in the mind, fiction, imagination Monier-Williams, p. 263
- Say it
- KUL-pa-naa
- Written
- कल्पना
- Other spellings
- Kalpna
Kalpana
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Kalpana meaning
Kalpana (कल्पना) is a Hindu girl's name of Sanskrit origin.
Making, fashioning, arranging; creating in the mind, fiction, imagination
Kalpana (कल्पना) is the Sanskrit kalpanā, a noun from the verb kḷp, "to be fit, to arrange". Monier-Williams gives it a practical side, "making, manufacturing, preparing" and "fixing, settling, arranging", and a mental one, "creating in the mind" or "fiction", the sense behind its everyday modern meaning of "imagination". It could also mean "form, shape, image", and even the dressing of an elephant in its trappings. Indian name lists give Kalpana as "imagination", in line with the dictionary. Its best-known bearer is Kalpana Chawla, the first woman of Indian origin to go into space, who died in the Columbia shuttle disaster of 2003.
Source: Monier-Williams, Sanskrit–English Dictionary (1899), p. 263 · entry kalpanā · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026
References: Monier-Williams, kalpanā, p. 263 · Wikipedia, Kalpana Chawla
Famous namesakes
- Kalpana Chawla, astronaut (1962–2003)
Fits your syllable
First sound क
Mrigashira nakshatra, pada 3 · Mithun rashi
This exact sound isn't in the table; the closest is का, which differs only in vowel length. North Indian table. Tables vary by region and family tradition, so confirm with your priest.
Spellings
Kalpana · Kalpna