Meaning: Sun; the sun god; from Sanskrit ravi (sun, another name for the sun deity Surya)High
In 30 seconds: A Sanskrit name simply meaning 'sun,' one of the names for the Hindu sun deity Surya. Associated with sitarist Ravi Shankar — whose collaborations with George Harrison brought Indian classical music to Western ears.
Ravi is Sanskrit for the sun (ravi: sun, solar). It is one of the epithets of Surya, the Hindu sun god. As a given name it has been used in Hindu communities for centuries across South Asia.
Ravi ranked #1216 for boys in 2024.
Did you know? Ravi Shankar (1920–2012) taught George Harrison to play the sitar, sparking the Beatles' Indian music phase that produced Norwegian Wood (1965) and Love You To (1966) — and inaugurating a decades-long cultural exchange between Indian classical and Western popular music.
Overall data confidence 96%
Behind the Name — Ravi — Sanskrit etymologyU.S. Social Security Administration — popularity data
Variations
RabiRavinder
Nicknames
Rav
Famous Bearers
★Ravi Shankar(1920–2012)
Indian sitarist who helped introduce Indian classical music to Western audiences, notably through his association with the Beatles' George Harrison.
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Surya— the primary Sanskrit name for the sun god, of which Ravi is an epithet
Aditya— Sanskrit sun-related name (son of Aditi, the mother of the sun gods)
Arya— Sanskrit name in the same South Asian Vedic tradition
Krishna— Sanskrit name of the Hindu deity, in the same tradition
Arjun— Sanskrit hero name from Mahabharata in the same tradition
