Lata

Classical Sanskrit origin

लता (latā): a creeper, any creeping or winding plant or twining tendril.

Source: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899), a public-domain scholarly reference — not every popular name today traces to a classical dictionary entry, so this section only appears where a verified match exists.

In the epics

Lata appears in the Mahābhārata as a other: One of the five apsara friends of Varga who descended to distract the brahmana and were cursed to become crocodiles for a hundred years.

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: Kark
• Nakshatra: Punarvasu
• More names starting with L

Names with a similar meaning

Names that share a word with “a creeper, any creeping or winding plant or twining tendril”. Meanings are the common reading rather than a ruling — the same name is often glossed differently by different sources.

• Vrinda — Meanings families give: Goddess Radha, tulsi plant, holy basil; Holy basil, Goddess Radha; Holy basil, Tulsi, a form of Radha; Tulsi plant; Radha; group of girls; Tulsi plant, Radha; Tulsi plant, devoted, goddess Radha
• Ivy — Climbing plant, fidelity
• Hina — Henna; the mehendi plant
• Thulasi — Holy basil plant, sacred to Vishnu
• Tulasi — Meanings families give: The holy basil plant, sacred herb; Holy basil plant, sacred; Sacred basil plant, divine herb; Sacred basil plant, holy plant of Vishnu
• Heena — Meanings families give: Henna plant, sweet fragrance; Henna; mehendi plant; fragrant

More girls' names of Sanskrit-Bengali origin

• Aishani — Goddess Durga, belonging to the northeast direction
• Ahana — Inner light; one who cannot be destroyed
• Sweta — White, pure; fair-complexioned
• Dipti — brightness, light, splendour
• Sharmila — Protected, sheltered; modest woman
• Parna — a pinion, feather (also of an arrow)

Other names under Kark rashi

• Priya — Meanings families give: Beloved, dear; Beloved, dear one, darling; Beloved, dear one; Dear, beloved; one who is cherished; Beloved, dear one, cherished
• Divyansh — Divine part, a sacred portion of the supreme divine
• Disha — Meanings families give: Direction, path, guiding light; Direction, guidance, aim; Direction, path
• Ganesh — Meanings families give: Lord of all beings, elephant-headed god of wisdom; Lord of ganas, elephant god; Lord of all beings, elephant-headed god; Lord of hosts, elephant-headed deity
• Khushi — Happiness, joy
• Devansh — Part of God, divine fraction and heavenly portion

Traditional association, recorded because families use it when choosing — see all Kark names.

Where this comes from

Lata's etymology is verified against Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899). 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.