How we research Nepali names and meanings

Which names we include

We include only names recorded as the given names of people in Nepal. We do not invent names. Many names appear in several romanized spellings (Laxmi and Lakshmi, Aakriti and Akriti). We group these as variants of one name, keep a page for each spelling, and treat the most common spelling as the main form. A boy’s name and a girl’s name are never grouped together, even when they sound alike (Manish and Manisha). Some rare spellings may be transcription variants; where we can tell, we link them to the main form.

How meanings and origins are researched

Meanings are worked out from a name’s roots, mostly Sanskrit and Nepali vocabulary, and for other names from Nepal Bhasa, Maithili, Tibetan, Kiranti, Arabic and other languages. Each entry gives the literal meaning first and any symbolic or devotional sense second, so the two are not confused.

Drafts are prepared with the help of AI language tools and checked against the name’s spelling and roots. We are reviewing entries by hand, starting with the most-viewed names. When a meaning cannot be established confidently, we either show none or label it “possible meaning”. Uncertain meanings are left out of theme, origin and deity lists.

A name’s linguistic origin, the communities that use it, and any religious association are recorded as separate facts. A name of Sanskrit origin, for example, is used by many communities.

Spelling and pronunciation

Every name has a Devanagari spelling that matches the form most families use, plus common alternatives. Spellings in other scripts (Nepal Lipi, Mithilakshar, Bengali, Gujarati, Brahmi) are letter-by-letter conversions. Tibetan spellings of Sherpa and Tamang names are written individually.

Pronunciations are given as an English-style respelling and in IPA. Most names also have audio produced by a neural text-to-speech voice reading the Devanagari spelling, adjusted for Nepali sounds such as व pronounced as “b”. See the pronunciation guide.

How popularity is calculated

Popularity comes from a sample of 44,456 recorded names of people in Nepal, mostly young adults. A name’s rank is the number of people in the sample who carry it, counted separately for boys and girls. Its 0–100 popularity score is that count on a logarithmic scale.

Limitations: this is a sample, not a national census. It reflects the generation it was drawn from, so very recent baby-name trends are under-represented, and some regions and communities may be under-represented too. “Rare” and “unique” mean rare in this sample.

Gender

A name is described as used mostly for boys or for girls based on the same sample. It is shown as unisex when at least 20% of its bearers are of the other gender. Gender describes usage, not a rule.

Community and tradition tags

These tags note where a name is commonly used. They are editorial and never describe any individual: names are shared across communities. where a name is commonly used says nothing certain about any one person’s community, religion or caste.

Famous namesakes

Notable people who share a name are drawn from public encyclopedic records of people born in Nepal or holding Nepali citizenship.

Numerology

Numerology is a traditional belief system, not a measured fact. We calculate it with the Pythagorean system on the English spelling and present it as such.

Corrections and updates

Entries are updated as better information becomes available. If you know a name’s meaning, spelling or pronunciation better than we do, please report a correction.