Kannan () () is a

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

and

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

male

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

. Due to a Tamil tradition of using

patronymic surname A patronymic surname is a surname originated from the given name of the father or a patrilineal ancestor. Different cultures have different ways of producing patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based o ...

s, it may also be a

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

for males and females. The name is derived from the

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

god

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

, who is offered the epithet of Kannan in Tamil, meaning, "the one who is to be seen".

Etymology

The word ''Kannan'' might come from the

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

into Tamil during the classical period. In Pali, Kanha means dark or black, and the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

equivalent will be Kṛṣṇa (

). In Tamil-speaking regions, Lord Krishna is called as Kanna(or with a masculine ending Kannan).

Notable people

Given name

B. Kannan Bhimsingh Kannan (10 January 1951 – 13 June 2020) was an Indian cinematographer and actor who worked in Tamil and Malayalam films. He was known for his association with Director Bharathiraja and was referred to as "Bharathirajavin Kangal" (Bha ...

, Indian cinematographer * K. Kannan, Singaporean footballer *

Kannan (music director) Kannan is an Indian film music composer who worked in the Tamil film industry. He debuted in 2010 with ''Thamizh Padam''. Career Kannan studied at Music College before beginning his career as a guitarist in 1988. Over the course of a decade, h ...

, Indian film music composer * Kannan Balakrishnan (born 1964), Indian musician *

Kannan Iyer Kannan Iyer is an Indian filmmaker and actor. He has written films like ''Daud (film), Daud'' (1997) and ''Victory (2009 film), Victory'' (2009); and has also directed a supernatural thriller, ''Ek Thi Daayan'', starring Emraan Hashmi, Konkon ...

, Indian film writer and actor *

Kannan Soundararajan Kannan Soundararajan (born December 27, 1973) is an Indian-born American mathematician and a professor of mathematics at Stanford University. Before moving to Stanford in 2006, he was a faculty member at University of Michigan, where he had also ...

, Indian mathematician * M. Kannan, Indian politician * P. Kannan, Indian politician from Tamil Nadu * R. Kannan (born 1975), Indian film director * S. P. Kannan, Indian politician *

Srirangam Kannan Srirangam Kannan (5 May 1952 – 20 September 2024) was an Indian musician and artist, known for playing the morsing. Life and career Vidwan Srirangam S. Kannan was born on 5 May 1952 in Srirangam to K. Sathyamurthy and Kamalam. Growing up, he ...

(born 1952), Indian musician *

Vedham Puthithu Kannan K. Kannan popularly known as Vedham Pudhithu Kannan, is an Indian film/stage director, writer and producer who primarily works in Tamil cinema. At various stages of his career, Kannan had the privilege to be mentored by veteran directors Bharath ...

, Indian filmmaker * Kannan Srinivasan, Indian-American politician in Virginia

Last Name

* Biju C. Kannan, Indian film director * Beena Kannan (born 1960), Indian businesswoman *

Bharathi Kannan S.Bharathi Kannan is an Indian film director, who has directed Tamil films. He was primarily active in the 1990s and early 2000 and is most noted for his work on devotional films. Career He started his career in 1981, joining as an assistant d ...

(born 1962), Indian film director * Embar Kannan (born 1975), Indian musician *

Kanal Kannan Kanal Kannan (born as V. Kannan) is an Indian actor, action choreographer & screenwriter who works in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada & Hindi films. He has worked with actors Ajith Kumar, Vijay, Vikram, Suriya, Vishal, Arjun Sarja & R. ...

, Indian film choreographer * Ravi Kannan R Indian oncologist and Padma Shri awardee * Ravindran Kannan (born 1953), Indian computer scientist *

Siddharth Kannan Siddharth Kannan is an Indian television and radio host, announcer, voice-over actor and a film critic. Early life and background He was born into a Tamil speaking family in New Delhi to parents V.Kannan and Radha Kannan, Sid K as he is po ...

, Indian broadcaster *

Yaar Kannan Yaar Kannan is an Indian film director and screenwriter who has worked on Tamil films. He made his debut with the 1985 with the horror film '' Yaar?'' and regularly collaborated with Ramarajan in the late 1980s. Career After assisting Mahen ...

, Indian film director

Other uses

Films

* ''

Kannan En Kadhalan ''Kannan En Kadhalan'' () is a 1968 Indian Tamil-language film, directed by P. Neelakantan, produced and co-written by R. M. Veerappan, starring M. G. Ramachandran, Jayalalithaa and Vanisri. It was released on 25 April 1968. Plot Kannan i ...

'', 1968 Tamil film * '' Kannan Varuvaan'', 2000 Tamil film

Places

Kannan Devan Hills Kannan Devan Hills is a large village located in Devikulam taluk, Devikulam Taluk of Idukki district, Idukki District in the Indian state of Kerala. It is situated near the state border of Tamil Nadu about 25 kilometres northeast of the distric ...

, village in Kerala, India

References

{{Surname Tamil masculine given names Malayalam-language masculine given names Masculine given names