A Dictionary of Indian Middle Names


Middle names are no longer common among Indians of the new generation. 
However if you are studying history or preparing your genealogy, you
will recognize many of these middle names.  The Indian middle names 
are actually appendages of the first names. In some cases, people use 
them as last names also. In case of Kumar, Lal, Chadra etc, their use 
as last names is very recent.

Male:

-anna	used in Karnataka
-appa	used in Karnataka
-babu	gentleman
-bakhsh	given by {Ex: Ram-bakhsh: given as a blessing by Lord Ram}
-bhai	brother (Gujarati) implying older brother
-bharose	see -sahay
-chandra	bright as the moon	
-dasa	servant of {Ex: Ram-das: servant of Lord Ram}
-datta	given by {Ex: Deva-datta: given as a blessing by God}
-dev	lord
-dhar	bearing {Ex: Shri-dhar: bearing goddess Shri}
-gupta	popularized by Gupta kings, used by Vaishyas
-indra	chief of the gods {Ex: Narendra: Indra of men, i.e. king) 
-ish (-esh)	lord {Ex: Naresh: lord of men,  i.e. king)
-ishwar	see -ish
-ji	sir (origin unclear) 
-krishna	Krishna	
-kumar	young man {Ex: Ashok Kumar, he too was young once}
-lal	young gentleman. Very popular during past several centuries. The 
        son-in-law is sometimes called "lala".     	
-mal	strong man. Used by kings in the past, it has been popular
	in Rajsthan until recently.
-mall	see -mal
-mitra	meaning Sun. It is related with the worship of Indo-Iranian Mithra. 
-naga	meaning dweller of mountains/forests. Not uncommon in ancient India.
-nand	one who pleases (i.e. a son)
-nandi	one who pleases
-narayan	Vishnu	
-nath	Lord of {Ex:Shri-nath: lord of goddess Shri i.e. Vishnu}
-pati	Lord of 
-prakash Light of {Ex: Ved-prakash: light of vedas}	
-prasad	Given as a blessing by {Ex: Ram-prasad}
-pratap	The glory of 
-rai	a from of -raj
-raj 	king {Ex: Prathvi-raj: king of earth}
-ram	Ram
-raman	one who is delighted by i.e. husband {Ex: Venkat-raman: husband of 
        Lakshmi}
-rao	a from of -raj
-sa	a form of -sah
-sah	gentleman (from Sanskrit Sadhu}
-sahaya	Who is protected by {Ex: Ram-sahaya}
-sen	commander of the army
-sha	a form of -sah
-shah	a form of -sah
-singh	lion
-sukh	who is given pleasure by {Ex: Nain-sukh: who has the pleasure of 
        eye-sight} 
-swami	lord, lord of

Female:

-bai	form of -vati, very popular in the past generation
-ben	sister (Gujarati) implying older sister
-de	sort of devi (old)
-devi	goddess
-kanvar	form of -kumari
-kumari	young woman
-lata	creeper {Ex: Pushpa-lata: a flowering creeper}
-mati	form of -vati
-prabha	the light of {Ex: Mani-prabha: the light of gems}
-shri	Lakshmi
-vati	with {Ex: Vidya-vati: who has learning}

Please let me know if there are other common middle names not included here.

Yashwant