Dattatreya
Dattatreya means Son of Atri, combined form of Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva.
Meaning as commonly given; not from a dictionary.
| Gender | boy |
| Origin | Sanskrit-Marathi |
| Language | Marathi |
| Starts with | D |
In the epics
Dattatreya appears in the Mahābhārata as a sage: A brahmana sage pleased by Kartavirya's worship and gift of all his riches.
Source: Drimigo Scripture KG (CC BY 4.0). Many characters share a name across the epics — this is one notable figure who bore it, not a claim about the name's only meaning.
Traditional associations
In Hindu tradition, names are sometimes chosen by the baby's rashi (moon sign) or nakshatra (birth star). This is cultural tradition, not a rule. Traditional rashi (by first letter, as commonly listed in this corpus) — not a personalized astrological reading, and not the same as the traditional first-syllable (akshara) method some families use.
- Rashi: Dhanu
- Nakshatra: Purva Ashadha
- More names starting with D
Names with a similar meaning
Names that share a word with “Son of Atri, combined form of Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva”. Meanings are the common reading rather than a ruling — the same name is often glossed differently by different sources.
- Atreyi — Meanings families give: Name of a sacred river, daughter of Atri; A sacred river; daughter of Atri
- Atreya — Meanings families give: Receptacle of glory, a sage and great scholar; Son of Atri, a sage
- Daksh — Meanings families give: Capable, talented and skilled in every endeavor; Capable, talented, son of Brahma
- Kalpesh — Meanings families give: Lord of all wishes, the divine fulfiller of dreams; Lord of imagination; Brahma
- Kamlesh — Lord of the lotus, a name for Vishnu or Brahma
- Sanjukta — Meanings families give: United, joined together in divine harmony; United, combined, together; United, connected; bound together; United, connected; Odia Odissi dancer Sanjukta Panigrahi
More boys' names of Sanskrit-Marathi origin
Other names under Dhanu rashi
- Subhadra — n. (-) very glorious or splendid or auspicious or fortunate
- Shruti — Meanings families give: Heard, sacred scriptures, Vedas; That which is heard, the Vedas; Hearing, sacred scriptures
- Ayyappan — Meanings families give: Lord Ayyappa; Lord Ayyappa, divine son of Shiva and Vishnu
- Subhashree — Good fortune, beautiful blessing
- Tanushree — Meanings families give: Beautiful body, graceful; One with a beautiful body; graceful woman
- Sowmya — Meanings families give: Gracious, calm, born of moonlight; Gentle, soft, pleasing; Gentle, calm, mild, Goddess Parvati; Gentle, soft, pleasing, calm
Traditional association, recorded because families use it when choosing — see all Dhanu names.
Where this comes from
Dattatreya has no entry in the classical Sanskrit dictionary we check against, which is common for modern and non-Sanskrit names. Its meaning comes from our compiled name corpus, the least-sourced dataset on this site — we say so plainly on Sources & methodology rather than implying an authority we cannot name.