Konkani Baby Boy Names with Meanings

Konkani is the language of Goa and of the Konkani families of coastal Karnataka and Kerala. Konkani Hindu parents often name a son after the family deity of a Goan temple, and Goan Catholic families after a saint of Old Goa. Konkani is officially written in Devanagari, as below, and also in Roman and Kannada script. Here are Konkani baby boy names with their meanings, from temple names to classic and modern favourites.

1. Names of Goa's Temple Deities

Most Konkani Hindu families belong to a kuldevta temple in Goa, many of them around Ponda, where the deities were carried for safety in the sixteenth century. Shiva is worshipped as Mangesh at Mangeshi, Nagesh at Bandivade and Ramnath at Ramnathi, and Damodar is honoured at Zambaulim.

Names For Boys

Name	Meaning
Mangesh	Lord Mangesh, Shiva of the Mangeshi temple in Goa (मंगेश)
Nagesh	Lord of serpents; Shiva of the Nagueshi temple (नागेश)
Ramnath	Lord of Rama, Shiva of the Ramnathi temple (रामनाथ)
Damodar	Krishna, bound with a rope at the waist; Damodar of Zambaulim (दामोदर)
Gajanan	The elephant-faced one, Ganesha (गजानन)
Datta	Given; short for Dattatreya, honoured at the Datta temple of Sanquelim (दत्त)

2. Names from the Saraswat Temples

Konkani Saraswat families who settled down the coast in Karnataka and Kerala built temples to Venkataramana, a form of Vishnu, in towns from Karkala to Kochi. Vishnu's names are among the most common Konkani boy names.

Names For Boys

Name	Meaning
Venkatesh	Lord of the Venkata hill, Vishnu as Venkataramana (वेंकटेश)
Shrinivas	Abode of Lakshmi, a name of Vishnu (श्रीनिवास)
Narayan	The refuge of all beings, Vishnu (नारायण)
Anant	Endless, infinite (अनंत)
Raghunath	Lord of the Raghus, Rama (रघुनाथ)
Upendra	Vamana, the younger brother of Indra (उपेंद्र)
Vasudev	Father of Krishna; also Krishna himself (वासुदेव)

3. Names from the Konkan's Legends and Saints

Legend says Parashurama shot an arrow into the sea and the Konkan coast rose from the water where it fell. Vitthal of Pandharpur and his devotee Pundalik are loved in Konkani homes, as they are in Maharashtra.

Names For Boys

Name	Meaning
Parshuram	Rama with the axe, who raised the Konkan from the sea (परशुराम)
Vitthal	Vishnu as Vithoba of Pandharpur (विठ्ठल)
Pundalik	The devotee for whom Vitthal came to Pandharpur (पुंडलिक)
Shripad	The holy feet (श्रीपाद)
Sadanand	Ever blissful (सदानंद)
Omkar	The sacred syllable Om (ओंकार)

4. Goan Catholic Names

Konkani is also the mother tongue of Goan and Mangalorean Catholics. Saint Francis Xavier lies in the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Old Goa, and Saint Joseph Vaz, born in Goa, was made a saint in 2015.

Names For Boys

Name	Meaning
Francis	Free, or a Frenchman; after Saint Francis Xavier of Old Goa
Xavier	New house, from the Basque Etxeberri; after Saint Francis Xavier
Joseph	He will add, from the Hebrew; after Saint Joseph Vaz
Joaquim	Raised by God; the Portuguese form of Joachim
Savio	Wise; after Saint Dominic Savio
Rosario	The rosary

5. Classic and Modern Konkani Boy Names

These names are heard in Konkani families in Goa, Mangaluru and Mumbai alike.

Names For Boys

Name	Meaning
Prashant	Calm, serene (प्रशांत)
Shrikant	Beloved of Lakshmi, Vishnu (श्रीकांत)
Vinay	Modesty, good conduct (विनय)
Vishal	Vast, great (विशाल)
Vaibhav	Glory, prosperity (वैभव)
Shreyas	Excellence, the best (श्रेयस)
Pranav	The sacred syllable Om (प्रणव)
Saish	Lord Sai (साईश)
Sameer	A gentle breeze (समीर)