About the name Shakuntala
Kalidasa built the most famous play in Sanskrit around a forest girl abandoned by birds and then by a forgetful king, and she outlasts them both. Shakuntala Devi later attached the name to arithmetic done faster than a machine, an unlikely and welcome inheritance.
Shakuntala is a girl name of Sanskrit origin, pronounced shah-koon-TAH-lah. On the NameRarity scale it scores 90 out of 100, which places it in the very rare band — a genuinely uncommon pick — most people have never met anyone with this name. Its strongest period was the mid-20th century.
Name facts at a glance
How popular is Shakuntala?
Shakuntala currently falls outside the US top 1,000, which is a large part of why it scores so highly for rarity. Roughly 2.5 people per million carry it — about 1 in 400,000. In a school of 1,000 pupils you would expect not to find a single one.
Famous people named Shakuntala
- Shakuntala DeviIndian mental calculator known as the human computer
- Shakuntala ParanjpyeMarathi actress, writer and social worker
Spellings and variants of Shakuntala
Names similar to Shakuntala
Ratnavali
rut-NAH-vah-lee
String of jewels, heroine of the Sanskrit play by King Harsha
Sharmila
shur-MEE-laa
Modest, shy in a becoming way
Sharmishtha
shar-MISH-tah
Asura princess of the Mahabharata, mother of Puru
Kadambari
kah-DUM-bah-ree
Heroine of Banabhatta's classical romance, also a flowering tree
Madri
MAH-dree
Princess of Madra, second wife of Pandu and mother of the twins
Saraswati
sah-rahs-WAH-tee
She who flows; the goddess of learning, music and speech, and a lost Vedic river
Satyavati
sut-yah-VAH-tee
She who is truthful, the fisherwoman who became queen of Hastinapura
Shreeya
SHREE-yaa
Prosperity, auspicious good fortune
Shakuntala — frequently asked questions
What does the name Shakuntala mean?
Shakuntala means "Sheltered by birds, heroine of Kalidasa's play and mother of Bharata". It is a name of Sanskrit origin, most often given to a girl.
How do you pronounce Shakuntala?
Shakuntala is pronounced shah-koon-TAH-lah, with 4 syllables.
How rare is the name Shakuntala?
Shakuntala scores 90 out of 100 on the NameRarity scale, which makes it very rare. Roughly 1 in every 400,000 people carry it — about 2.5 per million.
What is the numerology number for Shakuntala?
Shakuntala carries the expression number 9, known as The Humanitarian. Its soul urge number is 6 and its personality number is 3.
What is the lucky number and lucky colour for Shakuntala?
The lucky number for Shakuntala is 9 (with 18, 27, 36 also favourable), and its lucky colour is Coral Flame. The traditional lucky day is Tuesday and the associated gemstone is Bloodstone.