Given name & surname · also Sanskrit
Prakash
“surrounded by light”
Prakash is used as a given name and a surname. One Indian interpretation is “surrounded by light.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Indian interpretation is “surrounded by light.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Sanskrit.
How it developed
The name draws on Sanskrit prakasa, meaning “light”.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1972. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Prakash through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 57
- 57 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1995
- 10 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 6 in 2006. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 10 in 1995. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 4,008 as a first name in 2020; 3,946 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.
Prakash’s family of names
Prakash has a related form in Parkash. Prakash has a related form in Parkashe. Prakash has a related form in Poakashe.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Prakash
- Prakash RajIndian film actor, director, producer, and television presenterborn 1965
- J. P. Nadda11th President of the Bharatiya Janata Partyborn 1960
- Prakash PadukoneIndian badminton playerborn 1955
- Prakash JhaIndian film director and producer (born 1952)
- Prakash KaratIndian politicianborn 1948
- Prakash AmritrajIndian tennis playerborn 1983
- Prakash JavadekarIndian politicianborn 1951
- Prakash MehraFilm producer and director (1939–2009)
- Prakash MallavarapuIndian Roman Catholic archbishop1949–2026
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Prakash, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Paras
“a woman against whom others are measured” · “a touchstone”
>99% boys
Prahlad
“filled with joy”
>99% boys
Pramod
“a delightful young man”
>99% boys
Pranit
“one who is humble; modest”
>99% boys
Prabhat
“born during the morning”
>99% boys
Nirmal
“one who is peaceful; pure”
>99% boys
Rajat
“as precious as silver”
>99% boys
Pranshu
Pranshu is a masculine given name from Sanskrit.
>99% boys