Boy · Sanskrit · Hindu
Shankar
शंकरSay it SHUN-kur
- Meaning today
- Lord shiva, giver of happiness
- Original meaning
- "causing prosperity, auspicious, beneficent; a name of Śiva" Monier-Williams, p. 1054
- Say it
- SHUN-kur
- Written
- शंकर
- Other spellings
- Shankara, Sankar
Shankar
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Shankar meaning
Shankar (शंकर) is a Hindu boy's name of Sanskrit origin.
Causing prosperity, auspicious, beneficent; a name of Śiva
Also used to mean: lord shiva, giver of happiness
Shankar (शंकर) is Sanskrit śaṃkara, from śam, "welfare, happiness", and kara, "making". Monier-Williams gives the adjective as causing prosperity, auspicious and beneficent, and records Śaṃkara as a name of Rudra-Śiva, of Skanda, and of many authors, above all Śaṃkarācārya, the early medieval philosopher of Advaita Vedānta. Name lists give "Lord Shiva" or "giver of happiness", matching the dictionary. The singer and composer Shankar Mahadevan is a well-known modern bearer.
In Hindu tradition this is a name of Shiva.
Source: Monier-Williams, Sanskrit–English Dictionary (1899), p. 1054 · entry śaṃkara · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026
References: Monier-Williams, śaṃkara, p. 1054 · Wikipedia, Adi Shankara · Wikipedia, Shankar Mahadevan
Famous namesakes
- Adi Shankaracharya, philosopher of Advaita Vedanta
- Shankar Mahadevan, singer and composer
Spellings
Shankar · Shankara · Sankar