Marathi Baby Girl Names with Meanings

Marathi parents often name a daughter after a goddess of Maharashtra like Tulja Bhavani or Mahalakshmi of Kolhapur, a great Marathi woman from history, or the flowers worn in Marathi homes. In history books many of these women carry the respectful ending -bai, as in Ahilyabai and Muktabai, but the name itself is given without it. Here are Marathi baby girl names with their meanings and Marathi spellings, from goddess names to classic and modern favourites.

1. Names of the Goddesses of Maharashtra

Tulja Bhavani at Tuljapur, Mahalakshmi (Ambabai) at Kolhapur and Renuka at Mahur are counted among Maharashtra's three and a half shakti peethas, with Saptashrungi at Vani as the half. Their temples are crowded during Navratri, and Gauri is welcomed into Marathi homes for three days during Ganeshotsav. Rukmini, worshipped beside Vitthal at Pandharpur, is lovingly called Rakhumai.

Names For Girls

Name	Meaning
Rukmini	Vitthal's consort, Rakhumai of Pandharpur (रुक्मिणी)
Bhavani	Tulja Bhavani, the family goddess of Shivaji (भवानी)
Mahalakshmi	The great goddess of wealth; Ambabai of Kolhapur (महालक्ष्मी)
Renuka	The goddess of Mahur, mother of Parashurama (रेणुका)
Gauri	The fair one; Parvati, welcomed home with Ganpati at Gauri-Ganpati (गौरी)
Jagdamba	Mother of the world (जगदंबा)

2. Names from Marathi Saints and History

Maharashtra has a long line of remarkable women, from Sant Muktabai and the women saints of the warkari tradition to queens who ruled and fought in the Maratha period. In the nineteenth century, Savitribai Phule opened schools for girls in Pune and Anandibai Joshi became one of India's first women doctors. Naming a daughter after one of them is a way of honouring that courage.

Names For Girls

Name	Meaning
Mukta	Liberated; after Sant Muktabai, Dnyaneshwar's sister (मुक्ता)
Ahilya	After Ahilyabai Holkar, the Holkar queen who ruled Malwa from Maheshwar (अहिल्या)
Tara	A star; after Tarabai, the Maratha queen regent who led the fight against Aurangzeb's Mughal army (तारा)
Savitri	After Savitribai Phule, the reformer often called India's first woman teacher (सावित्री)
Anandi	Joyful; after Anandibai Joshi, one of India's first women doctors, who earned her medical degree in the USA in 1886 (आनंदी)
Rama	A name of Lakshmi; also Ramabai, the wife of Peshwa Madhavrao (रमा)

3. Names from Flowers and Seasons

Marathi women traditionally wear fresh flowers in the hair, often as a gajra of mogra, sayali or aboli, and many girl names come from these garden flowers. Other names mark the month of birth in the Marathi calendar, whose year begins in Chaitra with Gudi Padwa. Shravan, the monsoon month, is full of festivals and fasts.

Names For Girls

Name	Meaning
Sayali	A white, fragrant flower of the jasmine family (सायली)
Aboli	The orange firecracker flower worn in the hair (अबोली)
Prajakta	The night jasmine, the parijat flower (प्राजक्ता)
Ketaki	A fragrant flower, the screw pine (केतकी)
Chaitrali	Born in Chaitra, the first month of the Marathi year (चैत्राली)
Shravani	Born in Shravan, the month of the monsoon (श्रावणी)
Sarita	A river (सरिता)

4. Classic Marathi Girl Names

These names were popular in Marathi families through the twentieth century and remain well loved. Several, like Ashwini and Rohini, are names of nakshatras, the lunar mansions of the Hindu calendar. Others are linked to famous Marathi women such as the actresses Smita Patil and Madhuri Dixit.

Names For Girls

Name	Meaning
Madhuri	Sweetness (माधुरी)
Ashwini	The first of the 27 nakshatras (अश्विनी)
Smita	Smiling (स्मिता)
Vaishali	The ancient city of the Licchavis (वैशाली)
Rohini	A star; the nakshatra of Krishna's birth (रोहिणी)
Manasi	Of the mind; born of the heart (मानसी)
Sneha	Affection, love (स्नेहा)

5. Modern Marathi Girl Names

Modern Marathi girl names are often short and some, like Sai and Ovee, are rooted in the Marathi language itself. Others, like Gargi and Ira, come from the Vedas and Sanskrit literature. Several are carried by well known Marathi actresses, such as Mrunmayee Deshpande and the actor and poet Spruha Joshi.

Names For Girls

Name	Meaning
Sai	A friend, a companion; also Saibai, the wife of Shivaji (सई)
Ovee	A Marathi verse form sung by women at the grinding stone; Dnyaneshwar wrote the Dnyaneshwari in ovi verses (ओवी)
Mrunmayi	Made of earth (मृण्मयी)
Spruha	A wish, longing (स्पृहा)
Ira	The earth; a name of Saraswati (इरा)
Gargi	After Gargi, the Vedic woman philosopher (गार्गी)
Rewa	A name of the Narmada river (रेवा)