Boy · Sanskrit · Hindu
Shantanu
शान्तनुSay it SHAAN-tuh-noo
- Meaning
- Wholesome for the body; name of the Kuru king, father of Bhīṣma Monier-Williams, p. 1054
- Say it
- SHAAN-tuh-noo
- Written
- शान्तनु
- Other spellings
- Santanu, Shantnu
Shantanu
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Shantanu meaning
Shantanu (शान्तनु) is a Hindu boy's name of Sanskrit origin.
Wholesome for the body; name of the Kuru king, father of Bhīṣma
Shantanu (शान्तनु) is Sanskrit śaṃtanu, from śam, "welfare", and tanu, "body, person". Monier-Williams gives the adjective as wholesome for the body, from the Taittirīya Saṃhitā, and then the ancient Kuru king Śaṃtanu, son of Pratīpa. In the Mahābhārata he marries the river goddess Gaṅgā, who bears him Bhīṣma, and later Satyavatī, mother of Citrāṅgada and Vicitravīrya. Name lists give "wholesome" or "whole", matching the dictionary. Shantanu Narayen is the long-time head of the software company Adobe.
Source: Monier-Williams, Sanskrit–English Dictionary (1899), p. 1054 · entry śaṃ-tanu · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026
References: Monier-Williams, śaṃ-tanu, p. 1054 · Wikipedia, Shantanu Narayen
Famous namesakes
- Shantanu, Kuru king and father of Bhishma in the Mahabharata
- Shantanu Narayen, long-time head of Adobe
Spellings
Shantanu · Santanu · Shantnu