Names of Hanuman and Their Meanings
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Hanuman has many names, and each one records a part of his story: his parents, his strength, his service to Ram and his role as protector.
- Hanuman
- The one with the prominent jaw (hanu), from the childhood injury by Indra's thunderbolt.
- Anjaneya / Anjani-putra
- Son of Anjana. Anjani-putra appears in the second chaupai of the Hanuman Chalisa.
- Maruti / Marutinandan
- Son of the Maruts, the winds. Widely used in Maharashtra.
- Pavan-putra / Pavan-suta / Vayu-putra
- Son of Pavan (Vayu), the wind-god.
- Kesari-nandan / Kesari-suvan
- Delight or son of Kesari, his father.
- Bajrangbali / Bajrangi
- One whose body and strength are like a thunderbolt (vajra).
- Mahavir / Mahabir
- The great hero.
- Sankat Mochan
- Remover of troubles and dangers.
- Ram-doot
- Ram's messenger, from the journey to Lanka.
- Ram-bhakta
- Devotee of Ram.
- Rudravatara / Shankar-suvan
- An incarnation or aspect of Lord Shiva (Rudra).
- Mangal-murti
- The embodiment of auspiciousness, as in the closing doha of the Chalisa.
- Chiranjivi
- The long-lived, the immortal.
- Balaji
- A form of the name widely used for Hanuman in North India, for example at Mehandipur and Salasar.
- Veer Hanuman
- Hanuman the warrior.
- Dasa Hanuman
- Hanuman the humble servant of Ram, shown kneeling.
- Sundara
- The beautiful; the fifth book of the Ramayana, the Sundara Kanda, is named after this word.
- Kapisha / Kapi-raj
- Lord of the vanaras, as in the opening of the Chalisa.
Why so many names?
In Indian devotion, a deity's names are a way of remembering different qualities. Reciting names, called namavali or nama-smarana, is a simple form of worship. Some lists count 108 names of Hanuman. The Hanuman Chalisa itself uses many of these names in its verses.
See these names in context in the Hanuman Chalisa meaning, learn about his powers and forms or return to the Hanuman ji guide.
A note on sources: the story of Hanuman is told in the Valmiki Ramayana (Sanskrit), Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas (Awadhi), the Mahabharata, the Puranas and many regional retellings. The accounts agree on the main events but differ in details, so this guide says so wherever traditions differ.