Given name & surname · also Sanskrit
Indra
“in Hinduism, the god of the sky and weather”
Indra is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “one who possesses the rain; in Hinduism, a deity of thunder and rain” (Hindi) and “in Hinduism, the god of the sky and weather” (Hindi). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “one who possesses the rain; in Hinduism, a deity of thunder and rain” (Hindi) and “in Hinduism, the god of the sky and weather” (Hindi). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Where it comes from
A possible origin is Sanskrit, although the derivation remains uncertain.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1951. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Indra through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 943
- 130 boys · 813 girls
- Most popular year
- 2020
- 35 babies
- 2025
- 23
- #6,597 for boys · #9,713 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −8%
- Steady
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 13 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 6,597 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. It also appeared in 10 birth records for girls in 2025. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 3,102 as a first name in 2020; 200 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Indra’s family of names
Indra has a related form in Inderjit. Indra has a related form in Indrani. Indra has a related form in Inder.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 13
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Inderjitvariant
- Indervariant
- Indranivariant
- Indrajytvariant
- Indrajeetvariant
- Indrajitvariant
- Indervirvariant
- Inderjytvariant
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Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 11
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
- Rupindersee also
- Ravindrasee also
- Rajendrasee also
- Narendrasee also
- Mahendrasee also
- Jaswindersee also
- Harindersee also
- Surindersee also
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People named Indra
- Indra NooyiIndian-American business executive and former CEO of PepsiCo (born 1955)
- Indra DeviLatvian yoga teacher (1899–2002)
- Indra Putra MahayuddinMalaysian footballerborn 1981
- Indra Sahdan DaudSingaporean footballerborn 1979
- Indra Lal RoyBritish flying ace (1898-1918)
- Indra KumarIndian film makerborn 1953
- Indra LesmanaIndonesian singer, arranger, composer, and musicianborn 1966
- Indra SinhaBritish writerborn 1950
- Indra Bahadur RaiNepali writer and literary critic (1927-2018)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Indra, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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