Rohini () is a South‑Asian feminine given name of Sanskrit origin.
It literally means “ascending”, “growing”, “red one”, and by extension “star” and “cow”, reflecting its links to the reddish star
Aldebaran
Aldebaran () is a star in the zodiac constellation of Taurus. It has the Bayer designation α Tauri, which is Latinized to Alpha Tauri and abbreviated Alpha Tau or α Tau. Aldebaran varies in brightness from an apparent vis ...
and to fertility symbolism in Hindu culture.
Etymology and religious significance
The name derives from the Sanskrit root (“to rise, grow, ascend”) plus the feminine suffix .
* The Monier‑Williams dictionary glosses ''rohiṇī'' as “ruddy; a red cow; the fourth lunar mansion.”
In Hindu mythology, bearers include Rohinī Devi, favourite consort of
Chandra
Chandra (), also known as Soma (), is the Hindu god of the Moon, and is associated with the night, plants and vegetation. He is one of the Navagraha (nine planets of Hinduism) and Dikpala (guardians of the directions).
Etymology and other ...
and personification of Aldebaran, and Rohinī, mother of
Balarama
Balarama (, ) is a Hindu god, and the elder brother of Krishna. He is particularly significant in the Jagannath tradition, as one of the triad deities. He is also known as Haladhara, Halayudha, Baladeva, Balabhadra, and Sankarshana.
The fir ...
and
Subhadra
Subhadra (, ) is a character in the ancient Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. She is a princess from the Yadava clan and the sister of Krishna and Balarama. Subhadra married Arjuna, one of the Pandava brothers and had a son named Abhimanyu.
Sub ...
in the ''
Mahābhārata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kurukshetra War, a war of succe ...
''.
People
The name is widely used across India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and the South‑Asian diaspora. Notable people with the given name include:
* Rohini Arora, Canadian politician
* Rohini Balakrishnan, Indian bioacoustics expert
* Rohini Banerjee, Indian actress and model
* Rohini Bhate (1924 – 2008), Indian Kathak dancer and scholar
*
Rohini Chowdhury
Rohini Chowdhury (born 1963) is a children's writer and literary translator. Her published writing for children is in both Hindi and English, and includes translations, novels, short stories, and non-fiction. Her children's books and short storie ...
Rohini Devasher
Rohini Devasher is an Indian contemporary artist.
Early life
Rohini Devasher received her MA in printmaking from the Winchester School of Art in the UK and her BFA in Painting from the College of Art in New Delhi. She was also the recipient ...
, Indian contemporary artist
* Rohini Godbole (1952 – 2024), Indian particle physicist
*
Rohini Hattangadi
Rohini Hattangadi (''née'' Oak; born 11 April 1951) is an Indian actress, known for her work in Marathi, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Gujarati films, and Marathi soap operas and theatre. She has won two Filmfare Awards, one ...
(born 1951), Indian actor, BAFTA winner for ''Gandhi''
* Rohini Mariam Idicula, Indian actress, anchor and model
*
Rohini Khadilkar
Rohini Khadilkar (born 1 April 1963 in Mumbai) is a chess player holding the title of Woman International Master (WIM). She has won the Indian women's championship five times and the Asian women's championship twice.
She was the first fem ...
(born 1963), Indian chess player
*
Rohini Khadse-Khewalkar
Rohini Khadse-Khewalkar is an Indian misandrist. She is a woman leader of NCP(SP) and the president of its women wing. She is the daughter of Eknath Khadse. In 2025, she controversially petitioned Indian President Droupadi Murmu
Droupad ...
(born 1982), Indian politician
*
Rohini Kuner
Rohini Kuner (born 28 July 1970 in Bombay) is an Indian-born German pharmacologist and director of the Institute of Pharmacology at Heidelberg University.
Vita
After studying pharmacology in India she obtained her PhD from University of Iowa ...
(born 1970), Indian-born German pharmacologist and academic
*
Rohini Marasinghe
Rohini Perera Marasinghe is a Sri Lankan judge and lawyer. She was a sitting judge on the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. Prior to her appointment as Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, in April 2013, she served as a judge of the Court ...
, Sri Lankan puisne justice of the Supreme Court
*
Rohini Mohan
Dr. Rohini Mohan () is a ''sugama sangeetha'' singer from Karnataka. She is known for her ''bhava-''filled renditions.Rohini Mohan
Dr. Rohini Mohan () is a ''sugama sangeetha'' singer from Karnataka. She is known for her ''bhava-''filled renditions.Rohini Molleti (born 1969), Indian actress, screenwriter, dubbing artist and lyricist
*
Rohini Nanayakkara
Rohini Nanayakkara is a retired bank executive from Sri Lanka.
Biography
Nanayakkara grew up in a family of seven children. She studied economics at the University of Ceylon at Peradeniya, graduating in 1959.
She joined the Bank of Ceylon in ...
Sri Lankan banker
*
Rohini Nilekani
Rohini Nilekani (born 1960) is an Indian writer, author and philanthropist. She is the founder of Arghyam Foundation, a non-profit that focuses on water and sanitation issues, founded in 2001. She also chairs the Akshara Foundation, which focuse ...
(born 1960), Indian author and philanthropist
*
Rohini Pande
Rohini Pande is an economist who is currently the Henry J. Heinz II Professor of Economics and Director of the Economic Growth Center at Yale University. She was previously the Rafik Hariri Professor of International Political Economy and Moha ...
, Indian economist
*
Kodavatiganti Rohini Prasad
Kodavatiganti Rohini Prasad (14 September 1949 – 8 September 2012) was an author and retired scientist of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai. He is the son of the Telugu writer Kodavatiganti Kutumbarao. Kodavatiganti wrote books on Scienc ...
(1949–2012), Indian author and scientist
*
Rohini Salian
Rohini Salian (born 1947) is an Indian lawyer and former Chief Public Prosecutor for the State of Maharashtra in the Sessions Court, Mumbai. She was also a special public prosecutor for the Indian National Investigation Agency.
Early life and e ...
(born 1947), Indian lawyer and prosecutor
* Inoka Rohini de Silva, Sri Lankan badminton player
*
Rohini Somanathan
Rohini Somanathan (born 1965) is an Indian economist focusing on political economy and development economics, and especially on Public good (economics), public goods in India. Her research has included work on the conflation of Caste system in ...
Rohini (Buddha's disciple)
Rohiṇī was a princess of the Śākyas and sister of Anuruddha. She is a Sotāpanna.
Story
When Anuruddha visited his family in Kapilavastu, his sister Rohiṇī refused to see him as she was suffering from a certain skin disease. Anuruddh ...
*
Rohini (goddess)
Rohini (रोहिणी) is the goddess of stars in Hinduism and the favorite consort of Chandra, the moon god. She is one of the 27 daughters of the prajapati Daksha and his wife Asikni. As "the red goddess" (also known as Rohini Devi), sh ...
*
Rohini (wife of Vasudeva)
In Hindu mythology, Rohini (, ) is the first consort of Vasudeva
, and the mother of the Hindu deities Balarama and Subhadra. She plays a prominent role in the upbringing of Krishna.
Legend
Rohini is described as the daughter of the king B ...
Rohini (disambiguation)
Rohini may refer to:
People
* Rohini (given name), including a list of persons and characters with the name
* Rohini (actress) (born 1969), Indian actress, screenwriter, and director
* Rohini (Buddha's disciple), female disciple
* Rohini (goddess) ...
*
References
{{given name, cat1=Feminine given names, cat2=Indian feminine given names