Medha

Medha meaning

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

Mental vigour, intelligence, wisdom; personified as Dharma's wife

Medha (मेधा) is Sanskrit medhā, a word Monier-Williams cites from the Rig Veda for mental vigour or power, intelligence, prudence and wisdom; in the plural it can mean the products of the mind, thoughts and opinions. Personified, Medhā is a daughter of Dakṣa and the wife of Dharma, and H. H. Wilson's dictionary calls her a form of Sarasvatī, the goddess of learning. Name lists today give the same meaning, "intelligence" or "wisdom", often with a link to Sarasvatī. A well-known bearer is the social activist Medha Patkar, a founder of the Narmada Bachao Andolan, the movement that has campaigned since the 1980s for people displaced by the large dams on the Narmada river.

In Hindu tradition this is a name of Saraswati.

Source: Monier-Williams, Sanskrit–English Dictionary (1899), p. 833 · entry medhā · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026

References: Monier-Williams, medhā, p. 833 · Britannica, Medha Patkar

Famous namesakes

• Medha Patkar, social activist and a founder of the Narmada Bachao Andolan

Fits your syllable

First sound मे

Magha nakshatra, pada 4 · Simha rashi

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

Related names

Also meaning wisdom

Also starting with Med-

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