The name comes directly from the Sanskrit word अरण्य (forest), but is also used in some classical Indian literature to describe a wilderness or dessert. It is the name of the 3rd episode in the 16th-century (CE) epic poem, Rāmcaritmānas by Tulsidas.
The name is exclusively feminine in Thailand but is considered unisex in India.
The name can be of several different origins and meanings.
It is a Biblical male name that occurs in 2 Samuel 23:25 as the name of Elika the Harodite, one of David’s 37 special warriors. In this case, אֵַליקָא (Eli’ka), may mean “vomit of God” or “Congregation of God.” Some sources also list this as meaning “pelican of God.” In English, the name would be pronounced ee-LYE-kuh.
Pronounced, EH-lee-KAW الیکا, it is a Persian female name that derives from the Mazanderani language, meaning, “wild cherry.” However, it’s use in Iran may be influenced by an identical sounding Indian female name, which is derived from the Sanskrit एलीका (Elika), meaning “small cardamom.” It is also the name of a village in northern Iran of the same aforementioned Mazanderani etymology.
Elika is also a Nordic female name of uncertain etymology, it’s earliest use is recorded in 18th-century Iceland. It may derive from the the Frisian diminutive name, Alike, which is a diminutive form of any name beginning in the Adal- element, or the Frisian unisex diminutive name Elike, which is a short form of any name beginning in the EGG- element.
It may also be linked with a Greenlandic female name of uncertain etymology.
It’s Nordic form has been in use in Finland & Estonia, as well as all of Scandinavia & Iceland. It should be noted that Elike has occurred in use as a unisex name in Norway and Friesland.
Swedish and Frisian female variations include Eliko & Eliken.
Alternately, it is a Mari female name, but is of uncertain meaning, it may be a variation of Evika, meaning “slender.”
It is also the Hawaiian translation of Elisa, Eliza, Erica & Eric.
The name is derived from the Sanskrit word dhruva, meaning, “constant; immovable, fixed” and is also synonymous with the polar star.
Dhruva appears in the Hindu text, Vishnu Parana as the name of the son of Uttānapāda’s second and less favored wife. Dhruva wants to sit on his father’s lap like his older brother, but is thrown off as he is the son of a second wife. Dhruva is heartbroken and is consoled by his mother to contemplate his fate in life and advises him to work hard for what he wants. Dhruva goes into the woods and prays to Vishnu, who eventually transform him into the polar star.
Other forms include:
Druwa (Indonesian/Javanese)
Dhruv entered the U.S. Top 1000 Male Names in 2019 and ranks in at #997
Meaning: “foil, silver foil, leaflet, kind of vegetable .”
Gender: feminine
(PAR-nee-kah)
The name comes directly from the Hindi word which can refer to a pamphlet or leaflet or silver foil. In Sanskrit, it is also the name of a type of vegetable.
