Popular and traditional Sri Lankan names with meanings, origin and religion — from every community and region of Sri Lanka. 279 names.
| Name | Meaning | Gender | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kumara | Prince; Youth | 👦 Boy | Sinhala |
| Kumaran | Lord Murugan; Youthful | 👦 Boy | Tamil |
| Kumari | Princess; Maiden | 👧 Girl | Sinhala |
| Lalith | Beautiful; Graceful | 👦 Boy | Sinhala |
| Madhavi | Spring flower; Goddess Lakshmi; Sweet | 👧 Girl | Sanskrit, Sinhala |
| Madhumitha | Sweet friend | 👧 Girl | Tamil |
| Mahendran | Great Indra | 👦 Boy | Tamil |
| Mahinda | The monk who brought Buddhism to Sri Lanka | 👦 Boy | Sinhala |
| Mahmood | Praised | 👦 Boy | Arabic |
| Malar | Flower | 👧 Girl | Tamil |
| Malini | Garland-maker; Fragrant | 👧 Girl | Sanskrit, Sinhala |
| Manel | Blue water lily, the national flower of Sri Lanka | 👧 Girl | Sinhala |
| Mangala | Auspicious | 👦 Boy | Sinhala |
| Mary | Beloved; Bitter; Mother of Jesus; Star of the sea | 👧 Girl | Hebrew |
| Masood | Fortunate; Lucky | 👦 Boy | Arabic |
| Meenakshi | Fish-eyed; Goddess Parvati; The goddess of Madurai | 👧 Girl | Sanskrit, Tamil |
| Menaka | A celestial nymph | 👧 Girl | Sinhala |
| Metta | Loving-kindness | 👧 Girl | Pali |
| Mudita | Sympathetic joy | 👧 Girl | Pali |
| Murugan | Lord Murugan; Beautiful one | 👦 Boy | Tamil |
| Musa | Moses | 👦 Boy | Arabic |
| Nadia | Hope; Tender; Delicate; Dew | 👧 Girl | Arabic |
| Nalin | Lotus | 👦 Boy | Sinhala |
| Nanda | Son; Joy; Delight | 🧒 Unisex | Sanskrit, Pali |
| Nandana | Delight; The garden of the gods | 👦 Boy | Sinhala |
| Nasir | Helper; Victorious | 👦 Boy | Arabic |
| Nayana | Eyes | 👧 Girl | Sinhala |
| Nila | Moon; Blue | 👧 Girl | Tamil, Malayalam |
| Nilmini | Blue gem; Sapphire | 👧 Girl | Sinhala |
| Nimal | Pure; Spotless | 👦 Boy | Sinhala |
| Nirmala | Pure; Spotless | 👧 Girl | Sanskrit, Sinhala |
| Nirmalan | Pure; Spotless | 👦 Boy | Tamil |
| Nishantha | Dawn; End of night | 👦 Boy | Sinhala |
| Nuwan | Eyes (poetic Sinhala) | 👦 Boy | Sinhala |
| Oviya | Artist; Painting | 👧 Girl | Tamil |
| Padmini | Lotus; The queen of Chittor | 👧 Girl | Rajasthani, Sinhala |
| Panna | Wisdom | 🧒 Unisex | Pali |
| Parveen | The Pleiades star cluster (Persian) | 👧 Girl | Arabic, Bengali |
| Pavithra | Pure; Holy | 👧 Girl | Sinhala |
| Peter | Rock; Stone | 👦 Boy | Greek |
| Piyumi | Lotus | 👧 Girl | Sinhala |
| Prabhu | Lord; Master | 👦 Boy | Tamil |
| Pradeep | Light; Lamp | 👦 Boy | Sanskrit, Sinhala |
| Prasanna | Cheerful; Pleased | 👦 Boy | Sinhala |
| Priyantha | Beloved | 👦 Boy | Sinhala |
| Rahim | Merciful | 👦 Boy | Arabic |
| Rahula | The Buddha's son | 👦 Boy | Pali |
| Ramani | Beautiful woman | 👧 Girl | Sinhala |
| Ranjith | Pleased; Delighted | 👦 Boy | Sinhala |
| Rasika | Connoisseur; One who appreciates; One with fine taste | 👧 Girl | Marathi, Sinhala |
| Rebecca | To bind; Captivating; To tie | 👧 Girl | Hebrew |
| Revathi | A nakshatra; Wealthy; Wealth | 👧 Girl | Malayalam, Tamil |
| Rohana | The ancient southern kingdom of Ruhuna; Ascending | 👦 Boy | Sinhala |
| Ruwan | Gem; Jewel | 👦 Boy | Sinhala |
| Sakthivel | Lord Murugan's powerful spear | 👦 Boy | Tamil |
| Saman | The guardian god of Sri Pada (Adam's Peak) | 👦 Boy | Sinhala |
| Sampath | Wealth; Prosperity | 👦 Boy | Sinhala |
| Sanath | Eternal; One of the four sons of Brahma | 👦 Boy | Sinhala |
| Sanjeewani | Life-giving | 👧 Girl | Sinhala |
| Saranya | Surrendered; Protector | 👧 Girl | Tamil |
| Sarath | Autumn | 👦 Boy | Sinhala |
| Saravanan | Lord Murugan (born in the Saravana pond) | 👦 Boy | Tamil |
| Sariputta | The Buddha's chief disciple | 👦 Boy | Pali |
| Selvam | Wealth | 👦 Boy | Tamil |
| Selvi | Lady; Daughter | 👧 Girl | Tamil |
| Senthil | Lord Murugan | 👦 Boy | Tamil |
| Shams | Sun | 👦 Boy | Arabic |
| Shashikala | Phase of the moon | 👧 Girl | Sinhala |
| Siddhartha | One who has achieved his goal; The Buddha's birth name | 👦 Boy | Pali |
| Sitara | Star | 👧 Girl | Arabic |
| Sivakami | Parvati, beloved of Shiva | 👧 Girl | Tamil |
| Sivakumar | Son of Shiva | 👦 Boy | Tamil |
| Stephen | Crown; Garland | 👦 Boy | Greek |
| Sujata | Well-born; The woman who fed the Buddha | 👧 Girl | Pali, Sanskrit |
| Sumana | Good-minded; Cheerful | 🧒 Unisex | Pali |
| Sumith | Good friend | 👦 Boy | Sinhala |
| Sumudu | Soft; Gentle | 👧 Girl | Sinhala |
| Sunil | Dark blue; Sapphire | 👦 Boy | Sanskrit, Sinhala |
| Tharaka | Star | 👦 Boy | Sinhala |
| Thendral | Gentle southern breeze | 👧 Girl | Tamil |
| Thenmozhi | Sweet language | 👧 Girl | Tamil |
| Thilak | Auspicious mark on the forehead | 👦 Boy | Sinhala |
| Thiru | Sacred; Respected | 👦 Boy | Tamil |
| Udaya | Rising; Dawn | 👦 Boy | Sinhala |
| Udhayan | Rising sun | 👦 Boy | Tamil |
| Umar | Long-lived; The second caliph | 👦 Boy | Arabic, Kashmiri |
| Upali | A chief disciple of the Buddha | 👦 Boy | Sinhala |
| Upeksha | Equanimity (a Buddhist virtue) | 👧 Girl | Sinhala |
| Upul | Blue water lily | 👦 Boy | Sinhala |
| Uttama | Supreme; Highest | 👦 Boy | Pali |
| Valli | Wife of Lord Murugan; Creeper | 👧 Girl | Tamil |
| Vasanth | Spring | 👦 Boy | Tamil |
| Velan | Lord Murugan (holder of the vel spear) | 👦 Boy | Tamil |
| Vetri | Victory | 👦 Boy | Tamil |
| Vijaya | Victory; The legendary first king of Sri Lanka | 👦 Boy | Sinhala |
| Vijayan | Victorious | 👦 Boy | Tamil |
| Vimukthi | Liberation | 👦 Boy | Sinhala |
| Visakha | The Buddha's chief female lay disciple | 👧 Girl | Pali |
| Wasantha | Spring season | 👦 Boy | Sinhala |
| Wathsala | Affectionate; Loving | 👧 Girl | Sinhala |
| Wimal | Pure; Spotless | 👦 Boy | Sinhala |
| Yahya | John; God is gracious | 👦 Boy | Arabic |
| Yamuna | The sacred river Yamuna | 👧 Girl | Sinhala |
| Yashodhara | Bearer of glory; Wife of the Buddha; Wife of Prince Siddhartha | 👧 Girl | Pali |
| Yazhini | Melodious; One who plays the yazh | 👧 Girl | Tamil |
| Yogeswaran | Lord of yoga (Shiva) | 👦 Boy | Tamil |
| Yuvan | Young; Youthful | 👦 Boy | Sanskrit, Tamil |
| Zia | Light; Brightness | 👦 Boy | Arabic |
| Anbarasan | King of love | 👦 Boy | Tamil |
| Anbarasi | Queen of love | 👧 Girl | Tamil |
| Arivu | Wisdom; Knowledge | 👦 Boy | Tamil |
| Arulmozhi | Gracious words; Raja Raja Chola's name | 👦 Boy | Tamil |
| Cheran | A Tamil dynasty (the Cheras) | 👦 Boy | Tamil |
| Chezhiyan | A Pandya king | 👦 Boy | Tamil |
| Elakiya | Literature | 👧 Girl | Tamil |
| Elango | Young prince; Author of Silappatikaram | 👦 Boy | Tamil |
| Ezhilan | Handsome | 👦 Boy | Tamil |
| Ezhilarasi | Queen of beauty | 👧 Girl | Tamil |
| Gamini | Leader; King Dutugemunu (Duttha Gamani) | 👦 Boy | Sinhala |
| Gunasekaran | Collector of virtues | 👦 Boy | Tamil |