Girl · Sanskrit · Hindu
Nilanjana
नीलाञ्जनाSay it nee-LAAN-juh-naa
- Meaning today
- Blue-eyed, dark-eyed
- Original meaning
- "lightning; (nīlāñjana) black antimony, kohl" Monier-Williams, p. 566
- Say it
- nee-LAAN-juh-naa
- Written
- नीलाञ्जना
- Other spellings
- Neelanjana
- First sound
- नी · Vrishchik rashi
Nilanjana
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Nilanjana meaning
Nilanjana (नीलाञ्जना) is a Hindu girl's name of Sanskrit origin. By its first sound, नी, it is a Vrishchik rashi name (Anuradha nakshatra) in the North Indian table.
Meaning today
Blue-eyed, dark-eyed
Original Sanskrit meaning
"lightning; (nīlāñjana) black antimony, kohl"
Source: Monier-Williams, Sanskrit–English Dictionary (1899), p. 566 · entry nīlāñjanā · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026
Nilanjana (नीलाञ्जना) is a Sanskrit word that Monier-Williams defines as "lightning". The related neuter word nīlāñjana, from nīla, "dark", and añjana, "eye-salve", is black antimony, the kohl used to line the eyes. Indian name lists usually give Nilanjana as "blue-eyed" or "one with dark, kohl-lined eyes", a reading built from those two parts; the dictionary meaning of the feminine word itself is lightning. The name is used in Bengal. The novelist Jhumpa Lahiri was born Nilanjana Sudeshna Lahiri.
References: Monier-Williams, nīlāñjanā, nīlāñjana, p. 566 · Wikipedia, Jhumpa Lahiri · Wikipedia, Nilanjana Roy
Famous namesakes
- Jhumpa Lahiri, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, born Nilanjana Sudeshna Lahiri
- Nilanjana Roy, writer and literary critic
Fits your syllable
First sound नी
Anuradha nakshatra, pada 2 · Vrishchik rashi
North Indian table. Tables vary by region and family tradition, so confirm with your priest.
Spellings
Nilanjana · Neelanjana