Chandra as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Chandra

What is the meaning of the name Chandra ?

The baby name Chandra is a Unisex name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced English: /ˈtʃʌndrə/ (CHAN-drah or CHUN-druh); Sanskrit: /t͡ʃən̪drə/.

Chandra is Indian, Sanskrit in Origin.

Chandra is a Sanskrit name derived from candra, “shining; moon,” and in Indian tradition names the lunar deity associated with cool light, fertility, and the calendar. Attested in Vedic and epic literature, it has long been used across South Asia - India, Nepal, Sri Lanka - and spread through Sanskritic influence to Southeast Asia (e.g., Indonesian/Javanese Candra, Thai/Khmer Chantra). The name is unisex in its home regions but often read as feminine in the West.

Variants and related forms include Candra (scholarly transliteration), Chand, Chander/Chandar (Punjabi/Hindi), Chandru (South Indian diminutive), and compounds such as Chandrasekhar, Chandrakant, and Chandrajit; feminine derivatives include Chandrika (“moonlight”) and Chandni/Chaandni. Usage ranges from standalone given name to honorific first element in compound names (e.g., Chandra Prasad). Modern visibility includes diaspora communities and the Chandra X-ray Observatory, underscoring its luminous meaning.