What does the name Nala mean?

Nala means "Name of a celebrated king (of the Nala-Damayanti story)". It is a boy's name of Sanskrit origin.

Nala

Q: Is Nala a name from Hindu mythology?

Yes — Nala appears in the Mahābhārata: King of the Nishadhas, Virasena's son; defeated Pushkara at dice, then magnanimously released him and granted him a city.

Nala means Name of a celebrated king (of the Nala-Damayanti story).

Gender	boy
Origin	Sanskrit
Language	Hindi
Starts with	N

In the epics

Nala appears in the Mahābhārata as a king: King of the Nishadhas, Virasena's son; defeated Pushkara at dice, then magnanimously released him and granted him a city.

Source: Drimigo Scripture KG (CC BY 4.0). Many characters share a name across the epics — this is one notable figure who bore it, not a claim about the name's only meaning.

Names with a similar meaning

Names that share a word with “Name of a celebrated king (of the Nala-Damayanti story)”. Meanings are the common reading rather than a ruling — the same name is often glossed differently by different sources.

Kiratsingh — Famous warrior, celebrated hero
Jasrawat — Famous warrior, celebrated fighter
Riaan — Little king, kingly, noble
Kiaan — Ancient, king
Kian — King, ancient, grace of God
Rian — Little king, royal

More boys' names of Sanskrit origin

Aarav — Peaceful sound, wisdom
Arjun — Bright, shining, silver
Reyansh — Ray of light, part of God Vishnu
Vihaan — Dawn, beginning of new era
Aryan — Noble, of high birth
Krish — Short form of Krishna, dark, attractive

Where this comes from

Nala has no entry in the classical Sanskrit dictionary we check against, which is common for modern and non-Sanskrit names. Its meaning comes from our compiled name corpus, the least-sourced dataset on this site — we say so plainly on Sources & methodology rather than implying an authority we cannot name.