Nandana

Classical Sanskrit origin

नन्दना (nandanā): daughter.

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

Nandana appears in the Rāmāyaṇa as a messenger: One of the five messengers sent by Vasishtha to Kekaya.

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: Vrishabh
• Nakshatra: Rohini
• More names starting with N

Names with a similar meaning

Names that share a word with “daughter”. Meanings are the common reading rather than a ruling — the same name is often glossed differently by different sources.

• Jahnavi — River Ganga, daughter of sage Jahnu
• Fathima — Daughter of the Prophet, one who abstains
• Nandini — a daughter
• Sonakshi — Golden-eyed, daughter of Salman
• Zainaba — Fragrant flower, daughter of Prophet
• Janhavi — Daughter of Jahnu, river Ganga

More girls' names of Sanskrit-Malayalam origin

• Anusha — Star, following, after dawn
• Ankitha — Marked, distinguished, signed
• Aswathy — First nakshatra, Ashwini star
• Chinmayi — Full of knowledge, blissful, divine consciousness
• Saranya — Surrendered to God, refugee, sheltered
• Anugraha — favour, kindness, showing favour, conferring benefits, promoting or furthering a good object

Other names under Vrishabh rashi

• Vihaan — Meanings families give: Dawn, morning; Dawn, morning, beginning; Dawn, beginning of new era; Dawn, morning, beginning of light
• Vamika — Meanings families give: Goddess Durga, moving to the left; Goddess Parvati, another name for Durga
• Vivaan — Meanings families give: Full of life; Full of life, rays of the morning sun; Full of life, Sun; Full of life, sunrise
• Viaan — Meanings families give: Full of life, energy; Full of energy, lively, animated
• Tara — n. a star
• Vedant — Meanings families give: Ultimate knowledge; End of Vedas, the Upanishads and highest knowledge; Ultimate wisdom, end of the Vedas; Ultimate knowledge; Vedanta philosophy; Ultimate knowledge, Vedas; Ultimate knowledge, Vedanta philosophy

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

Where this comes from

Nandana'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.