Malini

Malini meaning

Malini (मालिनी) is a Hindu girl's name of Sanskrit origin. By its first sound, मा, it is a Simha rashi name (Magha nakshatra) in the North Indian table.

Garlanded; a garland-maker's wife; a name of Durgā

Also used to mean: fragrant

Malini (मालिनी) is the feminine of Sanskrit mālin, "garlanded, crowned, wreathed", from mālā, a garland. Monier-Williams gives mālinī as the wife of a garland-maker or gardener, a musical interval, several poetic metres and a name of the goddess Durgā, a title also given to the seven-year-old girl who represents Durgā at her festival. It is a name in the epics too: Draupadī called herself Mālinī while she lived in disguise at King Virāṭa's court, and the dictionary lists several rivers of that name. Name lists give "garland-maker" and "fragrant"; the first matches the dictionary, while "fragrant" is not a sense we found for the word.

In Hindu tradition this is a name of Durga.

Source: Monier-Williams, Sanskrit–English Dictionary (1899), p. 813 · entry mālinī · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026

References: Monier-Williams, mālin / mālinī, pp. 813–814

Famous namesakes

• Malini, the name Draupadi used at King Virata's court in the Mahabharata

Fits your syllable

First sound मा

Magha nakshatra, pada 1 · Simha rashi

North Indian table. Tables vary by region and family tradition, so confirm with your priest.

Spellings

Malini · Maalini

Related names

Also meaning flower

Also starting with Mal-

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