Buddhist names
36 names — 14 girls', 16 boys', 6 unisex.
Buddhist names span Pali, Sanskrit, Tibetan, Sinhala, Burmese and Thai, reflecting how far the tradition travelled. Many are concepts rather than people — awakening, compassion, loving-kindness, equanimity — while others come from the Buddha's own circle or from the Tibetan monastic tradition.
Drawn from Burmese, Pali, Sanskrit, Sinhala, Thai, Tibetan. Every name below has its own page with pronunciation, rarity score, numerology, lucky colour and lucky number.
Rarest Buddhist names
The least common picks in this tradition.
Kanthaka
KUN-tah-kah
Name of the white horse that carried Siddhartha from the palace
Milarepa
mee-lah-RAY-pah
Mila the cotton-clad one, Tibet's poet-yogi
Chodron
CHUR-drun
Torch of the Dharma, lamp of the teaching
Sariputta
sah-ree-POOT-tah
Son of Sari, the Buddha's foremost disciple in wisdom
Rahula
RAH-hoo-lah
Fetter, the name the Buddha gave his only son
Sanghamitra
sung-hah-MEE-trah
Friend of the Sangha, Ashoka's daughter who carried Buddhism to Lanka
Sunya
SHOON-yah
Emptiness, void, the absence of inherent existence
Thubten
TOOB-ten
Teaching of the Buddha, the doctrine itself
Buddhist girl names
Dolma
DOHL-mah
Liberator, the Tibetan name of the goddess Tara
Kusuma
koo-SOO-mah
Flower, blossom offered at the shrine
Lhamo
LAH-moh
Goddess, divine female being
Maya
MY-ah
Illusion, also Queen Maya, mother of the Buddha
Metta
MET-tah
Loving-kindness, the first of the four sublime abidings
Pema
PAY-mah
Lotus, the Tibetan rendering of Sanskrit padma
Prajna
PRUHG-nyah
Discerning wisdom, insight into the nature of things
Samadhi
sah-MAH-dee
Meditative absorption, the collected and unified mind
Sujata
soo-JAH-tah
Well-born, the woman who fed the fasting Buddha
Thida
TEE-dah
Daughter, also a Burmese form of Sita
Upeksha
oo-PECK-shah
Equanimity, the fourth of the sublime attitudes
Yasodhara
yah-SHO-dah-rah
Bearer of glory, the wife of Prince Siddhartha
Buddhist boy names
Ananda
ah-NAHN-dah
Bliss, joy, also the Buddha's cousin and personal attendant
Anuruddha
ah-noo-ROOD-hah
Compliant, unobstructed, a cousin of the Buddha noted for divine sight
Ashoka
ah-SHOH-kah
Without sorrow, also the emperor who spread the Dhamma
Bodhi
BOH-dee
Awakening, enlightenment, the tree under which the Buddha awoke
Dorje
DOR-jay
Thunderbolt, the indestructible vajra of tantric ritual
Jigme
JIG-may
Fearless, one who does not tremble
Nanda
NUN-dah
Joy, delight, also the Buddha's half-brother
Norbu
NOR-boo
Jewel, the wish-fulfilling gem of Buddhist iconography
Siddhartha
sid-DAR-tah
One who has accomplished his aim, the birth name of the Buddha
Somchai
sohm-CHYE
Befitting a man, worthy of manhood
Yeshe
YEH-shay
Primordial wisdom, the Tibetan rendering of jnana
Unisex Buddhist names
Given to boys and girls alike.
Dhamma
DHUM-mah
The teaching, the natural law the Buddha uncovered
Karma
KAR-mah
Action and its consequence, intentional deed
Sonam
SOH-nahm
Merit, good fortune accumulated through virtuous action
Tashi
TAH-shee
Auspicious, good fortune
Tenzin
TEN-zin
Holder of the Dharma, upholder of the teachings