Boy · Sanskrit · Hindu
Krishna
कृष्णSay it KRISH-naa
- Meaning today
- Dark, all-attractive
- Original meaning
- "black, dark, dark blue; the deity Krishna, avatar of Vishnu" Monier-Williams, p. 306
- Say it
- KRISH-naa
- Written
- कृष्ण
- Other spellings
- Krushna
Krishna
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Krishna meaning
Krishna (कृष्ण) is a Hindu boy's name of Sanskrit origin.
Black, dark, dark blue; the deity Krishna, avatar of Vishnu
Also used to mean: all-attractive
Krishna (कृष्ण) is Sanskrit kṛṣṇa, an adjective for black, dark or dark-blue colours, also used for the dark half of the lunar month, from full moon to new moon. Monier-Williams then gives it as the name of the celebrated avatar of Viṣṇu, the eighth son of Devakī and Vasudeva, said to have been born with dark skin and raised among herdsmen by Nanda and Yaśodā. Arjuna and the sage Vyāsa also bear the name, and its feminine, Kṛṣṇā, is a name of Draupadī. Vaiṣṇava teachers often explain Krishna as 'all-attractive', linking it to the root kṛṣ, 'to draw'; that is a devotional reading rather than a dictionary sense of the word.
In Hindu tradition this is a name of Krishna.
Source: Monier-Williams, Sanskrit–English Dictionary (1899), p. 306 · entry kṛṣṇa · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026
References: Monier-Williams, kṛṣṇa, p. 306 · Monier-Williams, root kṛṣ, p. 306 · Britannica, Krishna
Famous namesakes
- Krishna, the avatar of Vishnu in the Mahabharata and Puranas
Spellings
Krishna · Krushna