Given name & surname
Shankar
“one who confers happiness and welfare”
Shankar is used as a given name and a surname. One Sanskrit interpretation is “one who confers happiness and welfare.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Sanskrit interpretation is “one who confers happiness and welfare.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Sanskrit.
How it developed
Its Sanskrit formation brings together sam (“auspicious”) and kara (“making”).
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1985. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Shankar through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 80
- 80 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1997
- 9 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 2018. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,352 as a first name in 2020; 3,257 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.
Shankar’s family of names
Shankar has a related form in Sankar. Shankar has a related form in Sankar. In English usage, Shankar as a surname has a related form in SHANKER.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
See also 4
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Shankar
- Adi ShankaraAn Indian philosopher and theologian who consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta and revitalized Sanskrit scholasticism.788–820
- Shankar Dayal SharmaPresident of India from 1992 to 19971918–1999
- Shankar MahadevanIndian singer and composerborn 1967
- S. ShankarIndian filmmakerborn 1963
- Shankar Lakshmanfield hockey player1933–2006
- Shankar BalasubramanianBritish chemistborn 1966
- Shankar NagIndian actor, screenwriter, director, and producer1954–1990
- ShankarIndian actorborn 1960
- Shankar Abaji BhiseIndian scientist and inventor1867–1935
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Shankar, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Shashank
Shashank is a masculine given name from Sanskrit.
>99% boys
Saurabh
“fragrance, aroma”
>99% boys
Sanchit
Sanchit is a masculine given name from Sanskrit.
>99% boys
Sampath
“a wealthy man”
>99% boys
Anubhav
“experience, feeling”
>99% boys
Nisarg
“nature, form”
>99% boys
Ashutosh
“easily pleased”
>99% boys
Prakhar
Prakhar is a masculine given name from Sanskrit.
>99% boys