Names, and the evidence behind them
NaamTara exists because most Indian baby name content online has never been checked. We check it — against the classical dictionaries, the epics, and the Vedic and Puranic sources — and we tell you what we find.
Why we started NaamTara
A name is the first gift a parent gives a child, and the one that lasts longest. It deserves better than a list assembled by someone who never checked.
Most Indian baby name content online is unsourced. Meanings are copied from site to site until repetition passes for evidence, and three problems follow. Some names don't exist in classical Sanskrit usage at all — they're modern coinages presented as ancient. Some are real words carrying meanings quite different from what's popularly claimed, occasionally the opposite. And some are grammatically masculine words offered as girls' names, or the reverse, because nobody checked the gender.
Parents have no way to tell which is which. That's the gap we started NaamTara to close.
We believe uniqueness should never come at the cost of authenticity, and that tradition should never limit creativity. A name is not just a word. It is an identity, a blessing, and a legacy — and it deserves to be chosen on evidence.
“A name is the first gift a family gives a child — we just help you choose it well.”
— The NaamTara team
Four questions we answer for every name
Does it exist?
Whether the word is genuinely attested in Sanskrit or the regional language claimed for it — or whether it's a modern invention presented as ancient.
What does it actually mean?
The literal sense recorded in the standard lexicons, Apte and Monier-Williams, rather than the meaning currently in circulation.
How has it been used?
Where the name appears in classical literature, the epics, and Vedic and Puranic sources — and in what form.
What does it carry?
Grammatical gender, secondary senses, and any connotation a parent would want to know about before deciding.
Shrutika Barve
I'm a student of Sanskrit and Hindi with a lifelong love for language and meaningful names. While naming our daughters, I realized how often online name meanings were inconsistent or unsupported.
That journey led me to study authentic Sanskrit sources and work with Sanskrit scholars, so other families can choose names with confidence and clarity.
Ready to start the conversation?
Tell us about your baby, and our experts will take it from there.